Hogwarts Initiative
by HowTheFuckDoesEyelinerWork
Summary: Natashaxloki, murauders era.
1. Chapter 1 Natasha

With a whistle and a lurch, the Hogwarts express chugged out of the station. First and second years were leaning out the windows, saying goodbye to their loved ones, sixth and seventh years were struggling past third, fourth, and fifth years to the best seats. The prefects were patrolling the corridors, making sure all was going smoothly, proudly displaying the badges on their robes.

I slid past a couple first years and was about to enter the car with my friends, when Steve Rogers pushed his way through the throng of people.

"Natasha…"

"Look Steve, just because we spent the summer on a flying ship fighting evil together doesn't mean that we are going to be best friends here." I said.

"I know that, trust me, but Fury wants a meeting. I am supposed to get everyone. Could you help?" He had made his way so he was standing next to me now. I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Fine. I'll go this way, you go that way." I said, turning down the aisle, peering into every car. I looked into one of the cars and sighed when I found who it was.

I slid open the door and stepped in "Stark, Fury sent me to get you. He says it's urgent." I said in a bored voice. Tony Stark was sitting next to James Potter; across from them was Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin.

"Blimey mate! You already in trouble?" James Potter asked. "For a Slytherin to come and fetch you?" He stared at me, and I made a face.

"Naw, I sent him an essay this summer on fighting Giant Spiders." Stark said, standing up and following me out of the car, "I'll be right back."

I began walking brusquely down the train, Stark on my heels.

"What is this about?" He asked a little more than upset.

"I don't know." I said, "Fury just had me and Steve assemble everyone."

"Is this going to be like a team prep meeting or something? Because I could do without one of those."

"Like I said, I don't know."I reiterated, opening the door to a cart. Inside the whole team was assembled.

"It's funny; I thought I would only have to see you over the summer!" Tony commented. Everyone looked so different in their Hogwarts robes, it was almost comical.

"Don't think you're the only one." Barton muttered. Stark sighed and sat down next to Bruce Banner, his fellow Ravenclaw.

"What is this Fury?" Steve asked.

"Where is Thor?" Banner pointed out.

"That is what this is about."Fury said, "Asguard has agreed that Loki's punishment shall be he has to attend Hogwarts. So, the brothers will arrive after dinner tonight. Loki has been placed in Slytherin, Thor in Gryffindor. It is our job to make sure Loki doesn't cause trouble."

"Along with passing our OWL's. And surviving our fifth year of Hogwarts." Stark said, "Piece of cake."

"Passing your Owls shouldn't be a problem for a Ravenclaw." Barton said, "But it might be for us lower species."

"Not to mention You-Know-Who is all over the place!" I said.

"He is?" asked Steve.

"Yeah, my parents are always talking about it."

"So are mine." Stark said.

"He needs more recruits." I added, "He is going after most purebloods in Slytherin, or that were in Slytherin."

"Why does he need more supporters?" Steve asked. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Only a muggle born would ask that." He said, "The more supporters he has, the better chance he has of winning. There are too many powerful wizards, and no doubt he is one of the best, but against Dumbledore and most of the Hogwarts Staff, He doesn't stand a chance. If he has more followers, that's more power in his corner, and less in ours."

"You know what Stark, I'm getting really tired of your muggle born comments. Just because my parents are muggles, doesn't mean I am any less of a wizard then you."

"I never said that. I'm just saying that a muggle born doesn't have as much access to important information. Are you subscribed to The Daily Prophet? Or The Quibbler? They are wonderful ways of finding out things." Stark pulled a magazine out of his pocket and handed it to Steve.

"Boys please." Fury said, "I'm just saying our job might not be over. We saved Manhattan, and Loki has no powers outside of his wizarding skills, but I don't think that this summer was the end."

"Great." Banner said. "Can I sit this year out?" Everyone was quiet and stared at him. He chuckled, "I'm kidding. You guys need to learn to relax!"

"Can we go now?" Barton asked. Fury nodded,

"Just be on your guard." He said as we flooded out like kids leaving detention.


	2. Chapter 2 Natasha

We all filed obediently into the great hall, and took our seats at the large tables.

I walked to Slytherin and took a seat next to Regulus Black, a fourth year and my best friend.

"Where were you on the train?" Regulus whispered.

"Fury…" I whispered back, but we fell silent as the Headmaster began to speak.

"Welcome to yet another fun year at Hogwarts!" He announced.

"What did Fury want?" Regulus whispered. I gave him a 'not now' look. He sighed and nodded.

"I would like to remind you that-"I tuned Dumbledore out, if I needed to hear any of it, someone would tell me later. I began to scan the room for Loki and Thor. I spotted them standing side by side towards the teachers table. They looked so different in Hogwarts robes, Thor with the red tie of Gryffindor, Loki the green that marked him in my house.

Thor was standing tall, his hands behind his back, his chin up and his long blond hair was tied back in a pony tail. Loki was more hunched, shorter in the shadow of his brother. His long black hair was hanging down to his shoulders, and his green eyes were cast down.

"It is my pleasure to introduce to you two transfer students!" Dumbledore said, gesturing to Thor and Loki. Thor strode forward, Loki followed. He seemed less intense then before, like something had humbled him.

"Thor Odinson will be joining Gryffindor, and his brother Loki will be joining Slytherin!" Both houses that got new students cheered. "They are both fifth years. So please, make them feel welcome."

Thor sauntered to Gryffindor and took a seat next to Steve Rogers. Loki almost trudged to Slytherin, and sat next to Severus Snape.

"That looks like a creepy bloke…." Regulus commented.

"That's rick coming from a member of the Black family." I said, not looking at Loki. I could feel Regulus staring at me.

"Now what do you mean by that? My brother is a Gryffindor!'

"Reggie, your cousin's last name is Lestrange. And have you met Cissy's boyfriend?"

"Fine, Bella is a little out there, but Malfoy is more pretty then creepy. And besides, because of my family I should recognize that that guy is creepy."

I glanced up and saw that Loki was trying to socialize with Snape, but looked more confused than anything. The food had appeared, and Loki was staring with what looked to be trepidation at the mass of hands grabbing delicacies off the platters.

"Maybe he has just had a rough year." I said finally. Regulus sighed,

"If you say so…" He said, tearing into a turkey leg. I gorged myself on the fabulous food that Hogwarts had to offer, trying not to think about Loki. I knew I would need to put on a new mask when we interacted, but for now I could still be Natasha Romanov, a huge fan of Hogwarts kitchen staff.

Eventually, about halfway through dessert, I was so stuffed I had to sit back. I glanced at Loki, who was staring at his empty plate. Snape kept offering him food, but he politely ignored it.

Loki glanced around, and our eyes met. He smiled and gave a small waive, I smiled back, mouthing, _Welcome to Hogwarts. _Loki smiled broader, and I winked. He winked back.

"Oh dear Dumbledore…are you _Flirting? _With Mr. Creepy enough to be a Black?" I almost choked on some pumpkin juice as Regulus asked appalled.

"Honestly, Have I ever flirted with anyone? I'm Russian, or I was." I said, serving myself another bit of pudding. I really didn't want it, but I wanted to distract Regulus from my and Loki's interaction. There would be plenty of time for rumors later.

After dinner, the Slytherin Prefects, Bonnie Clyde and Grant Evans, led everyone down to the dungeon and the Slytherin common room.

Regulus caught up with some of his fourth year friends, and I lagged behind. I didn't have any friends in Slytherin my age, but didn't really mind.

Not having to talk to people gave me time to think. And I had a lot to think about.

I had known, since Fury said Loki would be in my house, I would have to do what I did best. Put on another face, and find out what he was up to. And I, being the only Avenger in his house, would have to be the only one.

The only problem was, Loki trusted me less then Stark did.

I walked to the wall that led to the Slytherin dorm, and froze. I didn't know the password. I would either have to sleep outside, or wait until someone came through to let me in.

I huffed and sat on the ground, with my back against the wall, resolving myself to a long night. There was no reason for anyone to come by. All I could do was hope Regulus would wonder where I was.

It only took about ten minutes when the portal slid open. I jumped up and almost ran into my savior.

"Oh sorry…" I muttered, and then took a step back when I recognized the person.

"No worries, none at all." Loki said kindly, "What were you doing out here?"

"I…I missed the password."I said, quickly recovering and looking down shamefully. Loki chuckled.

"Oh…I'm Loki by the way fifth year." He stuck out his hand. I smiled and took it, holding it in a firm death grip. He held tighter and neither of us let go. He stared at me, and I stared at him, both of us silently daring the other to give up.

"Natasha." I said after a second, still holding the handshake.

"Wonderful to meet you." Loki said. I was waiting for him to let go of my hand, but somehow got the feeling he was waiting for me to let go of his.

"If you need anything, I am in my fifth year too, so we probably have the same classes." I said casually. Might as well befriend him, it would be easier to know what he is up to.

"Wonderful! I feel like it is easy to get lost in the castle." He said, and he obviously wanted to 'befriend' me. I actually heard one of our hands crack under the pressure of our shake.

"Oh trust me…I've gotten lost hundreds of times. Just don't get lost anywhere near the Gryffindor Common room, or they'll be hell to pay."

"I think I believe that." Loki said sincerely.

"So…you are from Durmstang?" I said casually. Loki nodded

"Yes. Transferred here, my parents decided Hogwarts was…better." I nodded knowingly.

"I've heard dodgy stuff about Durmstang…"

"Oh you haven't heard the worst of it…" Loki shook his head, "I'm glad to be here already." He smiled.

"Well, Hogwarts is very glad to have you and your brother." I said, silently urging him to let go, my hand was beginning to cramp. He didn't, and I would never let him have the satisfaction of winning.

Then, the portal door opened, and a flying mess of black robes and wild limbs came flying into me, knocking me off my feet, and breaking me apart from Loki. It took only a few seconds for us to detangle ourselves and soon Regulus Black was standing next to me. His robes were crooked, and his dull green eyes were wild.

"Regulus…what happened?" I asked, helping the fourth year straighten his robes.

"I….uggg that Git!" He exclaimed, he pulled his wand out and swung it around.

"What happened?" I repeated, more sternly, as if talking to a child.

"I was playing chess with that third year, Anthony Grape, and he cheated! He bewitched the pieces! I called him out on it, and then quit cuz it wasn't worth it, and he got all mad. Then he called that seventh year, Goyle, who threw me out here!" Regulus grew more indignant and animated as the story went on.

Loki and I exchanged glances, and began to chuckle.

"Well…I'd like to have a go at this Goyle character." I said, "Nobody messes with my little Reggie but me!" I tussled his black hair. He hadn't hit his growth spurt yet, and was still shorter than most girls his age, but what he lacked in size he made up for with energy.

"What were you two doing anyways?" He asked, glancing at Loki.

"Just having a chat. Natasha missed the password." Loki said, teasingly.

"Oh…it's Basalisk!" Regulus said, and the door slid open. "Come on! Let's give Goyle the old one-two!" He rushed back inside, taking courage from his new ally.

Loki and I made eye contact, and a silent truce passed between us, the handshake had ended unresolved, and I knew someday the tie would have to be broken.


	3. Chapter 3 Natasha

The next morning, Regulus and I walked down to the great hall for breakfast.

We took our seats at a fairly empty section of the table, which soon filled up so the only seat left was the one next to me. In one seamless motion, Loki slid in next to me. Like a snake.

"Good morning." He said cheerfully. Regulus elbowed me in the ribs, and I smiled.

"Good morning." I said, "How was your night?"

"Fantastic, the beds are really comfortable." Loki said; Regulus choked on some orange juice.

"What is your problem?" I turned to ask him, he used the back of his sleeve to wipe the Orange Juice off his face and shook his head innocently.

"Nothing…" he glanced at Loki and lowered his voice, "comfy beds? I mean they are alright…"

"Well, you don't know what the beds at Durmstang are like." I whispered back. Regulus raised his eyebrows, and I glanced around again, "do you?" Regulus rolled his eyes dramatically,

"Of course I don't." He said, "But something about this bloke unnerves me…" Regulus was staring with narrowed eyes at Loki, who was eating a piece of toast and talking to some third years across the table.

"I don't see anything wrong. He is a nice guy." I said. Regulus raised an eyebrow,

"Just….be careful…." He said. Now I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks dad."

"Remember Barton! I don't want that to happen again!" I cast a glance at Clint, eating with Steve and Thor at the Gryffindor table.

"Who said anything about us becoming a couple? He got here yesterday bug. We weren't even flirting." Regulus huffed,

"Don't call me bug." He muttered, he acted upset, but I knew I was the only person who still remembered his childhood nicknames, and I was the only one who didn't get a terrible hex when I used them. I gave him a nuggie.

"I will be careful." I promised, kissing him playfully on the check. He made a face and pushed me away, but both of us were laughing.

"Careful, might make him jealous." Regulus warned, glancing at Loki, who was still trying to butter his toast.

"Natasha Romanov!" Slughorn came rushing up, a heap of parchment in his hands. "There you are…let's see, I've got your schedule, and young master Blacks as well." He said, handing us the parchments, and then rummaging through his stack trying to find something.

"Pardon me sir, but you gave me a slip from Fury…." Regulus said, handing the parchment back to Slughorn.

"Oh there it is," Slughorn took the paper and handed it to me, "and here is Master Black's schedule. Have a good year!" He smiled jovially and rushed off to hand out other schedules.

"What does Fury want?" Regulus asked. I shrugged and looked at the paper.

"I guess he just wants to see me…" I made eye contact with Stark, sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and saw he and Banner had gotten extra slips as well. Without looking I knew that Thor, Steve and Clint had gotten them too. I shook my head,

"Aw really? Herbology with Hufflepufs, first." Regulus huffed, tossing his schedule into the middle of the table.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me where the dungeon is?" I almost jumped when Loki spoke in my ear, "I have potions first, with Ravenclaw." I turned and smiled,

"Of course, I have it too. Can I see your schedule?" Loki handed me his paper and I compared ours, and then smiled, "Same classes, every day." Loki sighed in relief.

"Good, now I can just follow you around my first few months until I get the hang of this place."

"Trust me, five years hasn't been enough to get the hang of this place." I said. Loki smiled, and his green eyes seemed softer then they had the last time I had spoken to him. I wondered what Odin had done to him.

"Someone is staring at you…" Regulus said in a sing-song voice. I glanced across the hall and saw Thor, Clint, and Steve look away guiltily, "what do they want?"

"How should I know?"

"One of them is your ex boyfriend, one is the brother of your soon to be boyfriend, and one is…the American."

"What do you mean soon to be boyfriend?" I asked indignantly. Regulus glared at Loki,

"Oh dear I cannot find my way through this big humongous castle, could you please help me Natasha oh wise one?" He said, fluttering his eyelashes and making his voice go up four octaves. I punched his shoulder,

"Come on Loki, we don't want to be late." I said, practically dragging Loki away from the table. He detached his clothes from my grip and begun to walk beside me.

"So…Natasha Romanov. Do I detect a bit of Russian in your accent?" Loki asked as we walked through the corridors.

"My father's Russian, I was raised in Russia until I attended Hogwarts. Here, I lost most of the accent because it was hard to understand." I said, "Where are you from Loki?" He narrowed his eyes,

"Let's just say Norway." He said, "I'm surprised, I thought Russian wizards went to Durmstang."

"My father thought it best to send me here. Much like yours, only so very different" Loki laughed as we arrived in Slughorn's classroom.

"Hello Natasha dear and you have brought Mr. Odinson with you! Delighted…" Slughorn said, pointing us to a table in the back corner. We took our seats and began to unpack our cauldrons.

"What will we need for the lesson sir?" I asked, as some more Slytherins filed in, followed by a couple Ravenclaw's.

"Um…no practical lesson today dear, just a lecture. Next time we will be working. I'm teaching dangerous stuff…" He said with a smile. "Just your books and some parchment for notes will do." He added louder for the rest of the students. I noticed out of the corner of my eye Banner and Stark walking in and sitting in the corner close to the front.

"Good morning gentlemen. I trust your summer was good?"

"Oh great sir." Tony said quickly. Banner nodded in agreement. Finally everyone was seated, and Slughorn took his place at the front of the class. He held up a large vile with some green potion inside.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?" He asked. Banner raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Banner."

"That is radioactive sir." Banner said. I stared at him, and Stark subtly moved his chair over an inch. Banner noticed and glared at him. "It is very dangerous."

"Very good!" Slughorn said, "This is called noxious geneticus. Or Invisible Death as some would call it."

"Excuse me sir, but that doesn't always produce death…" Banner said. Slughorn stared at him,

"I'm afraid you are mistaken Mr. Banner, this would not be called Invisible _Death_ unless _death _was the product." Banner smiled and stared at his book,

"But sir…I know for a fact that that potion failed to kill a person once, in fact it made it nigh impossible for him to die after the potion was administered." I knew Banner was talking about himself, and so did Stark, and Loki. But Slughorn was oblivious.

"And how would you know so much about this potion?"

"Because sir…my father worked with it quite a bit." Banner said, "And once the subject failed to die."

"And do share, what happened to this subject." Slughorn was becoming impatient, but Banner held is cool surprisingly well. For which I was grateful. Tony was still slowly inching away.

"This subject was condemned to a half life. Whenever triggered he would turn into a beast so savage he would kill anyone and anything." Bruce said darkly. "And what's worse, this beast couldn't ever die."

"That is a horrible story, but I am afraid it's just that Mr. Banner, a story. Now would you please take your seat, we have a lesson to continue." I was staring at Bruce. He had gone pale and was breathing deeply. Tony was putting on the bracelets that summoned his suit, and staring at me.

"Are you going to reign in your pet?" Loki asked mockingly. "At least it's not a ship he is about to destroy." I was almost standing at my table, ready to help reign in Bruce were something to happen.

"Sit down?" Banner asked almost in a yell, "So you can teach false in-"

"BRUCE NO!" I shouted, standing up. Everyone turned to look at me. I stared at Bruce, who blinked and stared at his fists that were clenched. He unclenched them so fast they might as well have fallen off.

"Oh my god…" he said quietly, staring with horror. I breathed a sigh of relief, and Bruce sat down, almost in a daze. Tony scooted closer, but kept on the bracelets that would allow for him to call for his suit anywhere.

I sat down, ignoring the stares from everyone, keeping my eyes on Bruce and Tony, who were both staring at me with fear.

"Good job. You've trained him well." Loki said. I glared at him, and realized he was slightly more tense than normal.

"Don't act like you weren't worried." I said. Loki shrugged.

"I knew you'd take care of it."He said offhandedly. Slughorn, completely oblivious that his argument might have killed everyone in the room, kept on teaching about the 'sure-to-bring-death potion', and Banner didn't pay attention, and Tony kept staring at Banner, and Loki and I took lots of notes.

Eventually, we were released for lunch. Loki and I were walking together, but I stopped as we passed Fury's.

"I have a meeting…" I said, "But I will catch up to you later?" Loki nodded and smiled,

"Of Course…and I did think you would stop him." He said, walking away. If he was telling the truth, that made one of us.

I sighed and went into Fury's classroom, where all the Avengers were assembled. Banner rushed up to me. His face was bright red, and he looked very scared.

"Natasha I am so sorry…I had no idea I would get so worked up over a stupid potion…oh man...what if you hadn't yelled at me…oh god…." I grabbed his shoulders and led him to a chair.

"It's fine Bruce." I said, making him sit down. "Anyone have any tea or something?" Steve Rogers appeared with a steaming cup and handed it to Banner, who was still shaking.

"That was close." Fury said, "But thankfully the crisis was averted. Thor, how are you adjusting?" Thor looked embarrassed that he was in the spotlight.

"Wonderfully, the beds are very comfortable." He said smiling. I chuckled, and everyone stared at me.

"Sorry…but that is exactly what Loki said this morning." I said, looking at my desk.

"And how is that going?" Fury asked.

"Fine just fine. I have befriended him, in case any of you were unaware. I think that maybe I can find up what he is up to."

"Like he would tell you." Stark said.

"He might. If I were his friend." I shot back.

"He doesn't have friends."

"Yes he does!" Thor said, "He was great friends with the Lady Sif and the Warriors Three and I."

"Thor…they hated him." Clint said bluntly. Thor looked down.

"Oh."

"I have to go…so if this is going to be a briefing or something, just get it over with. If we are just going to have team lunches together, take my name off the mailing list." I said, grabbing my bag.

"For once, I agree with Natasha." Stark added, following.

"Wait you two!" Fury called. "Be careful." He added, looking directly at me. I smiled and nodded, touched that Fury cared enough to add those two words. For a man like Nick Fury, that was a big deal. Stark just sighed and walked out, probably to find Potter and his gang.

I walked out of the office and made my way slowly to the great hall to scarf down a quick lunch and walk with Loki to Divination.


	4. Chapter 4 Natasha

Divination was my least favorite class of the day. We sat for hours in a stuffy room that smelt of cheep perfume, studying an inexact form of magic no one ever uses in real life.

But I had to go, if I wanted to pass my OWL's, so there I was, struggling to stay awake. I glanced at Loki, who was doodling on a piece of parchment. He looked up at me and rolled his eyes, gesturing at Professor Trelawney.

"Ok everyone, the art of Chrystal ball gazing is very hard and revered among wizards and witches all over the world. Of you can master the art of Chrystal ball gazing; nothing will be unclear to you ever again."

"If you're so good, why are you wearing glasses?" Asked James Potter from the back. Trelawney ignored him, as always when he made snide comments.

"Now, in order to fully practice the art of gazing, you will have to partner up with someone you don't know that well, so I am going to ask you to partner with someone not in the same house as you. And Mr. Potter that goes for you too." Everyone let out a collective groan and began searching the room at once.

Lily Evans and Severus Snape paired up immediately. And everyone else was looking for a member of the opposite house they liked more than the others.

Loki and I exchanged glances and both looked back at the table with Thor, Barton and Steve Rogers. Barton had fallen asleep, and Steve and Thor gestured for us to join them at their table.

"This will be fun." Loki muttered. I gave him a reassuring smile and walked over.

"What do we do about…?" Steve gestured to Clint.

"Just leave him. He hasn't stayed awake for a divination class since the first day." I said, sitting next to Thor. Loki sat next to Steve. Thor took the Chrystal ball and stared at it.

"What am I looking for?" He asked.

"Something that will predict my future," I said, "like a swirl of smoke that says I am going to have twelve children or something."

"Twelve?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was just an example. They aren't always right." I muttered. Thor stared at the ball, glaring it down with his frighteningly blue eyes.

"She is coming…" Steve said, "Just make something up."

"I see something…." He said, "it is a bit of smoke…it looks like…uh…um…..err…a gun? Those mudguard weapons you are so fond of…"

"What are we doing over here?" We all jumped as Trelawney materialized next to us. Steve elbowed Barton, who woke with a jolt. "What do you see Thor?"

"I uh see a gun?"

"What is a gun?"

"It's a muggle weapon." Steve said quickly.

"Oh dear…Natasha….do not associate with the muggles and their primitive forms"

"Primative forms?" Steve asked indignantly.

"Yes dear, they are not as advanced as the wizarding world." Trewlaney said

"Exuse me miss, but have you ever seen a gun?" Steve asked.

"Of course not!"

"Well, I've used them. They are like Avada Kedavera machines. They can kill instantly, and you say they aren't as advanced? The muggles are no less wise or smart or advanced just because they aren't magical!" Steve exclaimed. Trewlaney grimaced and Patted Steve's head.

"Alright dear." She said. Steve clenched his fists, but said nothing.

"ok, next person." She stood there as Thor handed the ball to Steve, who glanced at Loki, then into the ball.

"I see nothing." He said finally. Then the ball filled with a red mist "Wait…what is that? Um…a er….what is that?" Trawleny knelt down to stare into the ball and gasped clutching at the many beads around her neck.

"Oh dear you poor child!" She said, touching Loki's face with sympathy. He looked utterly shocked, "You poor poor thing…that is the blood color. It means you have suffered much, but it also means you will suffer more….you poor child…" Loki pushed her hands away while staring at the ball.

"I thought this was supposed to show the future, not the past." He said.

"It does both. Alright you are doing good, keep it up children!" She patted Steve's head again then floated away. We all exchanged glances, and started laughing.

"ok, your turn." Steve said, handing me the ball.

"Um…" I gazed into it, seeing nothing, "I think there is smoke, maybe clouds?" I looked at Thor, "That would make since, um cloudsand a…" I tried too think of something, "um….its blue so that means what? Pain right? Loss?"

"Wow aren't we a bunch of happy people with happy predictions." Barton commented. I handed the ball to Loki. He stared at it.

"Umm….purple? That means long life...but we already knew that…and green, so you are a solder." He said, "Not exactly future..."

"Just as well" He said. Loki put the ball on the table and we fell into an awkward silence. Loki shifted in his chair uncomfortably, and I felt sorry for him.

"Soooo…." Barton said. 'Weird weather we're having right?" We all looked out the window and saw the beautiful sunshine.

"Not really…." Steve said, "it's nice actually."

"That's what's weird about it" Barton said, "its England. The Weather isn't supposed to be 'nice.' It is supposed to rain constantly."

"At least its not snowing, in Russia it was snowing in august." I said.

"In Asuguard it was beautiful." Thor said sadly, staring at the ball. Loki made a point of not looking at Thor, and I wondered if he was thinking about his home as well.

"Well…nothing compares to Brooklyn in the su—" Steve stopped talking as Sirius Black walked over.

"Hey Natasha." He said.

"Sirius."

"So…how was your summer?" He walked past Loki and asserted himself between Loki and me. I scooted a little closer to Thor.

"Just fine. And yours?" I said.

"Oh it was great. But you didn't visit." He said. Barton laughed, which turned into a cough as Sirius glared at him.

"I was busy." I said, glancing at the Avengers, who were all hiding smiles.

"Regulus missed you." Sirius said.

"I know…"

"And he isn't the only one." He leaned closer to me.

"I was on holiday in America." I said, moving my chair so I was almost in Thor's lap.

"Why America?" He glanced around the table, and then saw Steve, "Oh." He said, "I see how it is. Pick up a new boyfriend Natasha?" He said bitterly. Steve and I exchanged glances and started laughing.

"Oh no…not Steve."I said.

"So someone else?" He asked."Who?" I didn't say anything, but noticed Loki was staring with contempt at Sirius. Sirius looked at Barton, "don't tell me you two are back together?" he asked.

"No…just friends." I said simply "Sirius, I think James needs your help. He is hopelessly flirting, and I think he is about to get hurt." Sirius turned and saw James was sitting next to Lily, and Severus's fists were clenched. Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.

"See you around Romanov." He said, winking as he walked away. As soon as he was gone, I made a gagging noise.

"He is absolutely revolting!" I exclaimed.

"Yea, we share a dorm with him." Barton said, "He fancies you quite a bit." I sighed.

"He has since I started hanging out with his brother. Second year."

"Concentrate students! The inner eye does not come without practice and devotion!" Trelawney was up in the front of the room. "You must focus on your-goodness look at the time! It is almost dinner time! Next time I see you I want a full essay on the controversy surrounding Chrystal Ball seeing, five inches!"

The class let out a collective groan as we packed up our books and put the crystal balls back. Without talking, the five of us made our way to the great hall as a pack. It was strange, the four Avengers and Loki walking down the hall as peers.

We reached the great hall, and without a word, we all separated and headed to our respective tables. Loki didn't take his eyes off the Gryffindor table as we sat down.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't like how Black flirts with you."He said stiffly. I looked at his face and saw he looked genuinely disturbed. Without thinking I took his hand. It was stiff and cold, but I wound his long fingers in mine.

"Don't worry about him. I can handle myself." I said, "And if not, I've got you to help me." Loki looked at our joined hands like he had never seen anything like it before, and then up at me, breaking into a smile.

Our hands broke apart as Regulus sat down heavily and immediately began to complain about some Hufflepufs named Beverly Baxter who said something mean or something.

But a strange thing had happened, for the first time, I had seen Loki acting almost human. And that scared me.


	5. Chapter 5 Loki

Loki's POV

Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, Master Spy, had beaten me in physiological warfare, and now everyone seemed to think she was my girlfriend.

And I don't think I mind that. I don't mean I fancy her, but she is my gateway to knowing what the Avengers are up to, so I had to do it. Besides, there are worse girls out there, and as far as Midguardians go, she was superior to most.

So I decided to make it official. My goal at Hogwarts was to out spy the spy. I was wondering the hallways, trying to find Natasha, and as soon as I turned the corner, there she was.

She was shorter than me, by quite a bit, and had fiery red hair that hung to her shoulders. The green in her Hogwarts uniform made her green eyes stand out sharply, and I knew that she had at least one gun hidden in the folds of her robe.

The hallway was crowded, perfect. Slughorn and McGonagall were there, as was Sirius and his band of merry men, and Stark, Banner and Steve Rogers. Some first year Hufflepufs were huddling together, and some seventh year Ravenclaw's were talking and acting cooler then everyone.

Natasha was talking to Regulus, leaning against the wall. She laughed and as her head turned, she saw me. She kept smiling as I walked over.

"Hey!" I said, "Can I ask you something?" I made a point to look at her, so she would know I wanted to talk to her alone. She caught on and nodded.

"Sure! Be right back Reggie." She said, touching Regulus's arm. He was staring at me, and I winked slightly. "What's up?" Natasha asked. I wasn't nervous at all about asking her out, but I had to look nervous for everyone else.

I looked at the ground, then out the window, then back at the ground. "Um…did you see that a trip to Hogsmede is coming up?" I asked, willing my cheeks to turn red. She wasn't the only person who could act.

Natasha narrowed her eyes, and kept staring at me.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go…with me." I finally looked at her. I could tell everyone in the hallway was watching.

"Like….like a date?" She asked, smiling slyly. I gently grasped her hand.

"I suppose." I said. Natasha grinned,

"Of course I would!" She said. I made a point to look visibly relieved.

"But first, would you like to walk to Care of Magical Creatures with me?"I stared intently at her. She bit her lip and looked up as if deciding.

"Hm….I suppose I haven't gotten any better offers."She said finally, lacing her fingers in mine "so why not?" I smiled and we walked down the hall to the doors. The Avengers in the room were staring at us, but better yet, I caught in the corner of my eye Sirius Black, fuming.

That Saturday, after breakfast, Natasha and I met up outside the castle, with the other students going to Hogsmede. The sun was out, and the slightest breeze ruffled the yellowing leaves on the trees.

As soon as McGonagall approved our permission slips, we were off.

"Where to first?" I asked.

"Hmm…there is the candy store, and the bookstore, and the Three Broomsticks….why don't we play it by ear?" I looked at the town coming into view.

"You lead the way." I said. This was the first time we had spent 'alone' together, as a couple. The last time we had been alone was when I was behind a large pane of glass, and she was extracting information from me.

She had won that time, and I knew she was doing the same with this relationship, but so was I. And this time I was determined not to lose.

The town was crowded with students, and adults alike bustling from shop to brightly colored shop. The first one on the main street was a place called 'Honeydukes' which was full of all sorts of delectable candy.

There we filled our pockets with all sorts of assorted treats. The shop was crowded on the inside, and It was a relief to be back outdoors.

"Thirsty?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah, those fizzing whizzes really get to you." I said. She smiled, grabbed my hand, and led me to a large building with an old sign saying "The Three Broomsticks" hanging down. This place was only slightly less crowded then Honeydukes, and we soon found a small table in the back.

The waitress was a perky girl with long auburn hair.

"What can I do for you lovebirds?" She asked, pulling out a quill and piece of paper.

"Two butterbeers please."Natasha said, "how is Nymphadora?"

"Driving us up the wall." The woman laughed, "Who is your date?"

"This is Loki, he transferred to Hogwarts from Durmstang. Loki, Andromeda Tonks, Reggie's cousin."

"Pleasure." I said, shaking her hand.

"It's so nice to see Natasha out and about again. How was your holiday dear? Regulus said you weren't around often…"

"Oh I was in America." Natasha said, "otherwise I would have been."

"Sounds like fun, did you hear about the attack in Manhatthan?" Natasha and I exchanged glances. My alien invasion had made headlines worldwide.

"I heard about it…"

"You weren't there were you?" The womans eyes widened. Natasha shook her head,

"No no no…I was in a different part of America." She said quickly. "so how old is Nymphadora?"

"Six. The little buggar has gotten very mischevious. She is a Metamorphmagus you know…which means we have to homeschool her. Poor Teddy is taking time from the ministry today, tomorrow I am home teaching."

"That must be hard…" Natasha said,

"Well, Ted gets quite a bit of money from work, and I am working part time here, so we are looking into hiring a tutor. Maybe a Ravenclaw who graduates this year. Anyways, you look thirsty, I'm going to get you your drinks." She smiled and walked away.

"Andromeda was kicked out of the Black family because she married a muggle born wizard, Teddy Tonks. He is a successful writer with the Ministry, and they are just as happy without their family's strangeness."

"Strangeness?" I asked. Natasha looked around nervously,

"Her family is all involved in black magic. Fighting with you-know-who. Except Andromeda and Sirius. Sirius is avidly against his families standards."

"What about Regulus?"

"He isn't sure. He wants to impress his brother, but is scared of his family." We fell silent as Andromeda came back with the drinks.

"Here you go dears…enjoy!" She said in a sing-song voice. Natasha picked up her frothy mug and took a deep drink of the drink.

"Take a drink!" She urged, smiling. "It is delicious." I picked up my mug, and took a sip of the warm Carmel colored drink. It was the most delicious drink I had ever had.

I put my cup down and Natasha was laughing.

"What?" I asked.

"You…er…." She succumbed to laughter and I looked at my reflection on the side of the cup. I had a white mustache looking row of froth from the drink on my upper lip. I felt blood rising to my cheeks and quickly wiped it away with a napkin.

"Sorry about that…" I said.

"It was kind of cute." She was still laughing.

After we finished our drinks, we went back outside and were met with a crisp cold weather.

"How about the bookstore?" Natasha suggested. I nodded and followed her down the streets to a small shop of a side street.

This shop was not crowded at all, and there was a little bell that jingled cheerfully as we walked in. Natasha began scanning the shelves, and a sallow faced woman appeared from the back.

"Natasha darling! How are you?" She asked, rushing up to hug Natasha. That was the first time I had ever seen Natasha hug anyone.

"I'm wonderful." Natasha said. "And how are you Mrs. Snape?"

"I'll pull through dear." She said, smiling. Natasha frowned.

"What's happened?" Natasha asked, and her compassion shocked me.

"My husband attempted suicide again." Said Mrs. Snape, "he is back in the hospital and a place the muggles call rehab…" She sighed and blinked, as if choking back tears. Natasha frowned and grabbed the woman's frail hands.

"I am so sorry…" Natasha said.

"Just don't tell my son please, he doesn't need to know how poorly his father is doing." Said Mrs. Snape. Natasha nodded feverously.

"Of course. Severus has enough going on with all our homework anyways. He doesn't need to know that."

"I just got a new book in, I think you would like it dear. Let me go see…" Mrs. Snape wiped her eyes even though she hadn't been crying, and walked away. Natasha shook her head,

"It's so sad what that woman has put up with." She said.

"That is Severus's mum?" I asked, wondering how the boy who smiled so much around Lily Evans could have such messed up parents.

"Yeah, his dad is a muggle, and a wreck. Always drunk, hardly home and when he is he is abusive. Hogwarts is Snape's escape, and this bookstore is his mothers." Natasha shook her head again, but smiled as Mrs. Snape returned with a large green hardcover.

"This one came in and I thought of you. How was your holiday?"

"It was good, although I didn't have much time to read." Natasha said offhandedly, scanning the book, "This book looks wonderful!"

"Take it dear. You need to catch up after summer." Mrs. Snape smiled.

"Oh I couldn't…"

"Yes you can." Mrs. Snape turned to me, "Is this what kept you busy this summer?" She asked, walking up and shaking my hand. Natasha chuckled,

"You could say that." She said.

"I'm Eileen Snape,"

"Loki Odinson."I said, surprised at how strange 'Odinson' Sounded, it was what I was used to, I suppose it was different now because I knew it wasn't true.

"You take care of Natasha you hear? She is a wonderful girl, and has always cared about me." Mrs. Snape said. I nodded,

"Yes maim." I said.

"We should be going, it is getting late." Natasha said, "I will see you next time we come to town Mrs. Snape." she gave the frail woman another hug. And then Mrs. Snape walked up and hugged me.

"Bye dears." She said.

My mind could have been playing tricks on me, but I thought I saw Natasha's eye water. I was shocked. Natasha seemed to have feelings, she seemed to genuinely care about this woman, although she could have been acting, I didn't think so.

When we got back outside, clouds had formed and the sky had become cold and unforgiving.

"We should head back." I said, "Don't want to get rained on." Natasha nodded, tucking the book into her robes.

"I didn't know you like to read." I said.

"When I have time." Natasha smiled. We made our way out of the town and to the long road to the castle.

The front hall was full of students just getting back from their day at Hogsmede. Natasha and I stopped in the middle of the crowd. Among the crowd I saw all the Avengers, and Sirius and his friends, and his brother, Snape and Evans, and lots more people.

I faced her, standing close. "Thank you for coming with me today." I said.

"I had a blast." Natasha said, looking up at me. I leaned in and gently kissed her cheek, smiling.

"We should do it again sometime." I said. She grabbed my hand and nodded.

"Definitely." She said. "Well, I am going to turn in. I have a book to read." She gave my hand one quick squeeze, and then almost skipped down the hall to the dungeon.

I saw the Avengers staring at me, and winked at them. This was going wonderfully.


	6. Chapter 6 Loki

Halloween came quickly to Hogwarts, and the dining hall was full of giant pumpkins Hagrid had grown, and the tables were decked out with lots of yummy food.

Everyone gorged themselves, and by the time dessert was halfway over, everyone was exhausted and full. Except for Tony Stark.

"HEY NATASHA!" He shouted, standing up and throwing a large piece of pudding across the great hall. He missed wildly and hit Pepper Potts, a Hufflepuf, who screamed.

Clint Barton grabbed some red vines, and tied them to a fork, and used his makeshift bow and arrow to send globs of ice cream flying throughout the room.

"FIGHT!" James Potter shouted, chucking a fistful of candy corn at the Slytherin table. In seconds the whole dining hall was a mass of screams and flying food.

"Students!"Professor McGonagall was standing up, trying to calm the mess of food. "PLEASE ST—" She was cut off by a chunk of cake hit her in the face. Everyone was shocked to see the cake was thrown by Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Oh that is it!" She said, picking up a glob of treacle tart and threw it at Dumbledore, who ducked, and it flew into Fury's face. Everyone froze, wondering what wrath Fury would unleash. Instead, he scooped some pudding in his hand and globed it across the table.

Everyone began to scream as a full blown food fight broke out. Thor jumped up on one of the tables, holding a large piece of pie on a fork like he would his hammer.

"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" He shouted. Natasha and I exchanged glances, and she stood up, grabbing my robes.

"Natasha…I'm….not…..an…..Avenger!" She dragged me to the Gryffindor table, where the rest of the Avengers were gathered. "Natasha….."

"Ok…..we will make our stand at the Gryffindor table…" Steve said, not even giving me a second glance, "And crush them all!" He picked up a pie, spun, and threw it like a Frisbee. It bounced against some Ravenclaws, the walls, and into some Teachers, landing directly in Professor Flitwicks face.

"WAIT GUYS!" Tony shouted, dragging Banner by his collar. He tipped over a bench and shoved Banner under the table, "Here, meditate. I don't have any weed…."

"I'm Fine Tony!" Bruce protested, but was drowned out by Tony putting the bench back.

"What's our play?" Tony asked, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"Fight till we win!" Steve said, throwing another pie. Natasha had drug me to duck behind one of the tables. She had a glob of pudding in each hand.

"Come one Loki! There are a couple Hufflepufs down the way, trying to get together an allegiance."

"And what are we going to do?" I asked, reaching and grabbing a bowlful of candy corn.

"Break it up!" Natasha said mischievously, smiling. She stood up and threw both of the globs in rapid succession as I began throwing corn at the students. Our aim was dead on, and the Hufflepufs went down with the blows.

Natasha and I quickly ducked behind the table.

"Tasha! Loki! The Marauders are attempting to take us down! We need to go behind, attack from both sides." Clint had crawled over behind the table. Natasha nodded and reloaded her hands with pudding. I still had the candy corn. Barton had his makeshift bow and arrow.

"What's our play?" Natasha asked,

"You two go…I'll cover you. Ready….go!" Clint leapt up on one of the tables in one graceful jump and began to rapid fire cakes at the students. Natasha and I scrambled across the hall to a small spot behind the Hufflepufs table.

We glanced up and saw that the Marauders were stationed behind Ravenclaw, focusing on Thor and Steve. Clint rushed up.

"Ok…I'm going to get closer, you two cover me." He said, "I am going to take out Pettigrew and Lupin"

"Got your back!" Natasha said, standing up and nailing James Potter on the back of the head. I chucked pudding at Sirius's face, who had turned at just the wrong time, and was met with pie in the face.

Clint quickly took out Lupin and Pettigrew, and Natasha and I exchanged glances. We both stood up and threw ice cream at Clint, taking him out of action.

From that point on we were inseparable, we were quickly taking out everyone in the hall. Once we had decapacitated all the Avengers, total domination was easy.

Soon it was just us; we were standing on the Slytherin table, surrounded by carnage.

"We are the only ones left." Natasha said.

"There can only be one winner." I said. Quick as lightning, Natasha scooped up a piece of pudding and smeared it in my face. I wiped the pudding out of my eyes and shot forward, grabbing her arm, twisting her around, and pressing my lips against hers.

We broke apart after a few seconds, now both of us covered in pudding. Her face was one of shock, but not disapproval.

"truce?" She asked. I smiled, and bowed slightly, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing it gently.

"trice mi'lady." My eyes locked on her grey ones, and we kept staring at each other, until we heard one person, clapping loudly. Both of us turned and saw it was Dumbledore.

"CONGRADULATIONS TO THE HOGWARTS HALLOWEEN FOOD FIGHTING CHAMPIONS!" He said. I grabbed Natasha's hand and held both of our triumphantly in the air.

Students and all around were covered in pie, ice cream, pudding and a large assortment of desserts, and they all started clapping.

Natasha and I were smiling, and laughing. Exhilaration from the fight, and the kiss was coursing through my veins.

Eventually the clapping died down, and we dismounted the table. Dumbledore exchanged glances with all the teachers, and they simultaneously pulled out their wands and began siphoning the food away.

In moments the hall was back to normal, and all the students were standing, clean, all over the hall.

"Alright, now however much fun that was, it is time for you all to go to bed!" Dumbledore announced. "Goodnight!" The students filed out of the hall, chattering excitedly about the fight that had just occurred.

Natasha and I stared at each other for a moment, then I put my arm around her and we headed for the common room.

I wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but I refused to let my over thinking ruin the night. I had kissed Natasha Romanov, and she had kissed me back.

And we had won what could possibly be the biggest food fight in Hogwarts History. That was a pretty good night.


	7. Chapter 7 Loki

The air was cold and snow was falling lightly on the ground as the Hogwarts students left the school for the last Hogsmede trip before the holidays.

Natasha, Regulus and I wrapped ourselves in our Slytherin scarves and hats and walked briskly in the cold dampness of the snow, hurrying to the Three Broomsticks.

"Hey, why don't we go to the Hogs Head…?" Natasha said as we reached the outskirts of town, "I have a meeting, and I think it will be less crowded today." I looked at the packed doors of the Three Broomsticks.

"What meeting could you possibly have there?" Regulus scoffed,

"Why what's wrong with it?" I asked. Natasha glanced at me, and then sighed.

"I have a meeting with Fury." She said finally. Oh. That. "And we are going to the Hogs Head because it's quieter. You guys can get a butterbeer, this shouldn't last long."

Regulus and I exchanged glances and followed her down the street to a place so deserted it looked almost dead. A far cry from the welcoming doors of the Three Broomsticks, the Hogs Head was decrepit and old. A sign hung, dangling by one chain, and the door squeaked loudly on its hinges.

"I'm late," Natasha said, "have a drink, I'll be right back." She patted Regulus's arm, and bounced up the stairs. Regulus looked around and sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, following his gaze. A woman who might have been twenty was sitting at the bar with a man about the same age. She had big black hair and wore all black robes. He had straight black hair, and dressed similarly.

"The Lestranges…let's hope they don't see me…" Regulus said, ducking to a corner booth. I ordered two butterbeers from the old man at the bar, and brought them to Regulus.

"Who are they?"I asked quietly. Regulus groaned.

"Bellatrix Lestrange!" Came a high pitched voice. I turned and saw the couple was now standing by our table. "Hello Regulus darling, how is school?" Regulus mumbled something unintelligible into his cup. The woman, Bellatrix Lestrange, shrugged, and looked at me.

"Hello there. I am Regulus's cousin." She said, sticking out her hand, "and you are….?"

"Loki," I said, ignoring her offer of a handshake. She gasped in surprise

"No way! I have wanted to meet you for months now!"She said enthusiastically, grabbing a chair and spinning it around so she could sit uncomfortably close, her companion brought a chair over and sat next to Regulus.

"Oh, this is my husband, Roddy, by the way." She said. I glared at 'Roddy'. He didn't offer a handshake, "Now, I'm sure you've heard of…"Bellatrix glanced around the room, "You know who…right?"

"I'm sorry who?" I asked. Bellatrix looked at me like I was an alien. I suppose she wasn't wrong.

"Um…You know who…." She said.

"No…I don't. Can you give me a name?" I asked, looking confused.

"Lord…the dark lord…you know…." She looked at her husband, who shrugged. She glanced around the bar and leaned in, whispering so low I could barely hear, "Lord Voldemort…"

"Oh you mean Voldemort!" I said loudly, she made a gasping noise. "I have heard of him…" Regulus was laughing into his butterbeer. Bellatrix looked angry. She took a deep breath and composed herself.

"Yes, Him. I am actually a good friend of his, and well I'm sure you know he is looking for supporters…"

"No thanks." I said immediately. Natasha had warned me about 'Death eaters"

"Oh but hear me out!" Bellatrix reminded me of an overly enthusiastic salesperson. "You see, the benefits far outweigh the risks. Being a servant to Lord…You know who…will mean you are spared when he takes over the wizarding world. "

"No thanks." I repeated.

"I'm not done. And you get new powers…"

"No. Thanks."

"And you meet wonderful new friends that think the same way as you do!"

"Is this a league of evil wizards or a drug recovery group?" I asked, "Because I would like to join neither."

"That's Natasha Romanov's boyfriend." Regulus interjected. Bellatrix sighed,

"Oh…" She said, "Think about it, Ok hun?" She asked, placing a card on the table, "have a good school year Reggie." She kissed Regulus on the cheek, and with husband in tow, sauntered away.

"Sorry mate." Regulus said, "She can be pushy."

"Has she tried to get you to join?" I asked, picking up the card.

"Loads of times. My whole family works for him. Except Sirius, and Andromeda. And I haven't chosen either way yet, so everyone still likes me." He smiled, but I sensed sadness in his eyes.

Without thinking, I ripped the card in half. "I don't want to join any dark wizard recovery groups." I said. Regulus chuckled,

"Hey, I've got to go pick something up…it will only take a moment, and I will be right back." He said, standing up, and walking out of the bar. I glanced around, and became uncomfortable upon the realization that I was the only customer. The bartender was washing glasses with a dirty cloth, and that was it, except for the voices upstairs, which reminded me we were in fact, not alone at all.

"THAT IS THE STUPIDEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD!" came Fury's voice. Curiosity got the better of me, and I crept towards the stairs, hoping to catch some of the conversation. Natasha said something I couldn't understand, and then Steve said,

"It's not impossible—"

"Um…have you met this guy?" Barton cut him off, "If we are a time bomb, he is a bomb that explodes when it touches air. Or water, or other molecules!"

"Don't insult Loki on a molecular level Barton. You are a spy, not a scientist." Stark said, "But I agree, you are going crazy Natasha."

"My Brother is not that bad!" Good old Thor, "He is just…"

"What? Your brother is a diva Thor, Look at what he did to my house!" Stark said angrily.

"Well that's what you get for being so arrogant as to put your name on a building the size of the Empire State Building!" Steve said,

"It is my company's name, ok? And now Loki's gone and destroyed it!" _You bet I have_. I thought, _and I regret none of that._

"That is beside the point." Barton said, "Natasha you are a spy. You show no feelings, no fear. That is how we were trained. You do what has to be done, no matter what."

"And that thinking made our relationship work out so well." Natasha said sarcastically, "I'm not saying that I can't do that, but I don't think this guy has a black heart."

"And what color is it?" Stark asked, "Because it sure as hell isn't full of puppies and strawberries."

"Puppies and…what?" Thor asked.

"Its people like you who taint it! He has a heart; it is just buried under layers of hurt!"

"Who has hurt my brother in this way?" Thor asked, sounding appalled. I almost banged my head into a wall.

"Everyone who meets him! Your father, your friends, us, no one thinks there is hope so we treat him like dirt on our shoes." Natasha said passionately. I was shocked at how well she spoke my mind.

"He is dirt on our shoes!" Stark said, "And the only way he is getting off is by being beaten again and again."

"No! You are wrong Tony!" Natasha said. The silence that followed was astounding.

"Don't tell me…" Stark began, 'You couldn't possibly…"

"What?"

"Have….feelings fort that creep?" Stark asked quietly. Natasha was quiet for a long time, then,

"Some people have more than a glowy circle for a heart." She said deathly, I heard footsteps and flew from the stairs where I had been eavesdropping to the table where Regulus and I had been sitting.

Natasha was standing up for me…to the Avengers. She seemed to care, or at least understand slightly. I looked up as she stormed out of the room. She saw me, smiled and walked over.

"Where did Regulus go?" She asked, sitting down and drinking his butterbeer.

"I'm not sure…he said he would be right back." I said, "How did your meeting go?"

"Oh you know the norm." Natasha shrugged, she picked up the card I had torn in half, "What's this?"

"Nothing…" I took it and ripped it again, then sighed when she gave me a death glare, "Bellatrix Lestrange tried to recruit me for her special club." I said.

"And what did you say?" She asked casually.

"I told her No Thanks, and then Regulus said that I was your boyfriend and she left. Is she scared of you for some reason?" Natasha shrugged, innocently drinking Regulus's butterbeer.

The door upstairs opened and the Avengers filed out, most of them looked mad, Thor looked confused. Banner was strangely absent. Stark saw us and glared hatefully.

"What's his problem?" I asked. Natasha glared at him, finishing Regulus' butter beer in one gulp. She set the empty cup down almost savagely, "what's your problem?" I asked.

"He is." She said; I glanced at Tony Stark. "And I am his. Let's go." She stood up without another word and strode out of the pub. I quickly set my cup down and followed, skirting awkwardly around the people that wanted to see my guts on their walls. And Thor. I'm not quite sure which was more awkward.

The outside air was chilly, and Natasha was stamping her feet on the ground, either keeping her legs warm, or pretending the snow was Tony Stark. Probably both.

"I think Regulus went to the main part of—"I was interrupted as Natasha wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. After a second, I wrapped my arms around her and buried my cold face in her warm scarf.

"What was that for?" I asked. Natasha squeezed tighter.

"I don't think you are bad Loki." She said, "I really don't." Those words, combined with the conversation I overheard, almost brought tears to my eyes. I was almost certain she was playing some angle, she couldn't truly feel that way, but every inch of my not-black-but-not-full-of-puppies-and-strawberries heart wanted to believe she was telling the truth.

But she was the Black Widow. Master Spy.

Eventually we pulled out of the hug, but still kept close. She put her arm through mine, and upon a wordless agreement, we began walking down the street to find Regulus.

As we were walking, one more thought occurred to me. If she was spinning her web, why did she defend me to the Avengers, when she thought I wasn't listening?

Then I remembered Tony Stark, and how much she likes to spite him. And maybe she did know I was listening, she knew a lot of things. But perhaps she didn't know how accurate her description of me was.

But the smallest part of my not-black-but-not-full-of-puppies-and-strawberries heart hoped she did, because that would put one name on the roster of people who understood.


	8. Chapter 8 Regulus

Regulus POV

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping in the trees, and the soft snow hid my soft approach as I quietly slid against the outer wall of the castle. I was just planning on hiding for awhile, contemplating life and discovering some inner peace crap or something, but what was in store for me was so much more. I held my breath at the sound of oncoming voices.

"Natasha, this thing we have-" distinctly Loki's voice.

"it's not a thing" Natasha cut him off. It sounded like a row. I figured it was my duty as Natasha's best friend to listen.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?" she asked

"Everybody hates me." he said humorlessly.

"I don't hate you." Natasha said simply. "Neither does your brother"

"Just because he is too naive to understand. My father did though...and it wasn't pretty" what the heck were they talking about? I wondered.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that" she said, "but no one here hates you"

"Have you met your squad of Happiness that you spent the summer with? They hate me more then they hate he-who-must-not-be-named. They will never forgive me. "

"Well, you haven't exactly apologized have you?" Loki said nothing for a moment, and I peeked over the ledge using a bush to hide my face. Loki was leaning on the windowsill, his face hard. Natasha was staring at him, her hand on her stomach. Wait...her stomach...the thing...

"Like they will listen long enough for me to say anything." Loki said; Natasha just stared at him. He backed away from the window and stepped up to face her. "But I suppose I could try. Maybe Thor would help them listen" Natasha smiled.

"Loki, believe it or not, I do care about you. I'm sure they will understand" Natasha said, hugging him. Eventually he hugged her back, but I had seen what I needed to see.

The hand on the stomach, the thing they were talking about, forgiveness...I could barely breadth. Natasha was pregnant. And Loki was the father.

All I could focus on for the rest of the day was Natasha…poor Natasha. She seemed fine at dinner, but I knew I had to talk to her.

"Hey, Natasha…umm….are you sure you should eat that?" I asked as she ate a large piece of fried chicken.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"Well…it might not be good for…."

"For what?"

"Natasha…you know I am your best friend right?" I asked. Natasha stared at me for a long moment.

"What's wrong Regulus?" She asked. Loki was sitting across from us, and seemed to be as confused as Natasha.

"No matter what…I will always have your back…You too Loki."

"What…"

"And you have to tell someone. I think Madame Pomfrey can help."

"Help with what?" Loki asked.

"I know it's kind of hard, but I am so proud of the fact that you two are sticking together." I said.

"Honestly Reg, what are you talking about?" Natasha and Loki were both staring at me with concern.

"And, you know what, I don't care if you hate me for it, but I have to tell someone. I love you guys and will always stay by you, even if you no longer love me. I hope that you won't hate me, but I have to do what is right." I stood up without another word and walked out of the dining hall.

Thor, Steve Rogers, and Clint Barton were standing in the hallway talking. I figured if anyone needed to know, it was the soon-to-be-uncle.

"Thor, can I talk to you?" I asked, jogging up.

"Of course!" Thor said in a friendly voice. He was a lot bigger up close. I took a deep breath.

"Please don't hurt Loki too bad, he is really a cool guy, but I really hope that you will you know, help him through it, and Natasha, I know this is going to be hard for her and-"Thor cut me off,

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't know? They made it sound like you knew…." The three Gryffindor were staring at me like Natasha and Loki had been, "Natasha…is pregnant…"

Clint Barton fell to the floor with a thud. Steve and Thor stared at me with horror.

"Pregnant….as in….with child…..how?" Steve asked. I stared at him. Stark and Banner walked up, seeming to wonder why Barton collapsed.

"What's up with him?" Stark asked.

"And you are sure Loki is the father?" Steve asked, I nodded,

"I overheard them talking, there wasn't any other explanation." I said.

"Loki is whose father?" Stark asked.

"Natasha's child." Steve whispered. Stark and Banner froze.

"Natasha is _Pregnant?_ That would explain everything! Someone wake up Clint!" Stark began to raise his voice.

"Calm down…" Banner said. Steve glared at him, and then took a breadth. Clint had woken up and was standing, pulling out his wand.

"I will talk to her…" Banner muttered. I hadn't meant for her ex-boyfriend to know, but I suppose he would have found out anyways.

"No...No…." Stark said, "That would end violently…" he said, voicing my concern. "I want nothing to do with talking to her."

"I won't do it." Banner said, "That would also end poorly."

"Ok, I guess I will talk to her…Thor you should talk to Loki. He is your brother." Steve said. He sighed as Natasha and Loki walked out of the great hall, hand in hand.

"Don't hurt her!" I said to Steve, "I don't want the baby to get…hurt." Steve nodded and patted my shoulder.

"Hey, Nat, Can I talk to you?" Steve called out. Natasha turned, and saw all of us standing there. Barton was glaring with a look that almost made me shake with fear, Stark was standing with his arms crossed, and Banner was leaning out the window, breathing calmly.

"Sure…." Natasha and Loki began walking over.

"Aye, Brother I would have words with you." Thor said in his deep voice. Loki raised an eyebrow.

"What have I done this time?" He asked quietly. Steve took Natasha's arm gently and began walking down the hallway with her.

Thor led Loki in the opposite direction. I looked at Tony Stark.

"I am going to listen in. I don't want him hurting her." I said. Stark nodded,

"Mind if I join?" He asked. I shook my head and we walked off the way Natasha had gone. She and Steve were on the outside grounds, and had stopped by a clump of bushes.

Stark and I expertly hid ourselves behind the bushes.

"Natasha, what were you thinking?" Steve asked, "Did you get drunk? Were you forced? Did he hurt you?"

"What are you talking about Steve?" Natasha asked.

"Regulus told us, all of us, everything." Steve said, Natasha narrowed her eyes.

"Everything? What exactly did he tell you?"

"He told us he overheard you and Loki talking about your pregnancy." Steve sighed, "Natasha…if Loki forced you into any-"

"My what?" Natasha asked, "Pregnancy? Did Regulus think I was Pregnant?"

"And that Loki was the father. Yes." Steve said, "Now believe me we will waste no time in kicking Loki's sorry…"

"And you believed him!?" Natasha asked, her voice rose to the point of crazed, "Steve, I know Gryffindor aren't that intelligent, but really? Do you honestly think I would let Loki get me Pregnant?"

"So it's not true?" Steve asked weakly

"No! Of course not!" Natasha began laughing, "Is that what Barton was so upset about? Oh god…." I sat down on the ground in relief, Natasha wasn't pregnant. But in sitting down, I landed directly on a twig. Which cracked. Loudly. Natasha and Steve glared at the bushes.

"Regulus?" Natasha asked, "Regulus Arcturus Black." She put her hands on her hips like a scolding mother, "come out now." She ordered. I exchanged glances with Tony and stood up.

"You're not pregnant?" I asked. Natasha stared at me for a long second, then leapt forward and tackled me, sending both of us flying into the bush, and Tony Stark.

"Tony!?" She exclaimed, "You were a part of this?"

"No, I just knew not to trust Regulus, and thought this might be funny…." He said, "Although I did wonder…."

Natasha punched Tony in the face, and then turned to me.

"Regulus." She said, "You are in so much trouble…" She tackled me again, but gave me only a nuggie. "You thought I was pregnant? That is what you were going on about over dinner? And you sent Steve to talk to me?"

"No, Steve sent himself to talk to you, and Thor to talk to Loki." I gasped. Natasha stood up and exchanged glances with Steve.

"Loki…" She muttered; they looked at the sky as thunder clapped.

"That's strange the sky was perfectly clear just moments ago…" I said, but Natasha and Steve were both running full speed across the yard. I looked at Steve, who was rubbing his face, and both of us followed.

They made it to the outer wall, and we heard yelling inside.

"LOKI YOU IMPREGNATED NATASHA HOW DARE YOU?"Thor was yelling, thunder was louder here.

"YOU KNOW THERE ARE THINGS THAT COULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS…" Thor was yelling.

"Are you really going to give me that talk?" Loki asked,

"LOKI, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE DRAGONS AND THE DANDILIONS…."

"Oh gods not this again…we went through this with Sleipnir" I could practically hear Loki's eyes roll.

Natasha looked at Steve, and the window that must have been fifteen feet off the ground. Steve looked around and found a large piece of bark lying on the ground. He picked it up and looked at Natasha, who nodded.

Steve backed up against the wall and held the bark like a table, low to the ground. Natasha took a few steps back, and ran at him.

She leapt, her foot making contact with the wood as Steve heaved her up, propelling her through the window. Thor started yelling at Natasha,

"AND YOU GAVE CONSENT FOR THIS? YOU-"

"THOR SHUT UP IM NOT PREGNANT!" Natasha shouted.

"What?" Thor asked. Stark used his wand to summon a couple of cleensweeps from the broom closet, and we used them to ride into the room. Thor was standing at one end of the room, his chest heaving, his face red and his hair was wild. Loki was at the other, his face as wild, but he looked more like he was about to laugh.

Natasha was between them looking very angry. As soon as I landed and got off the broom, she pointed at me, "Apologize!" She commanded, "Tell Loki exactly what happened." Loki was staring at me, and Thor walked over so he was closer.

"ImsorryIwaslistininingintoyourconversationandthoughtyousaidNatashawaspregnantsoItoldThorbecauseheisyourbrotherandIthoughtthathewouldwanttohelpandIhopeyou'renottoomadatmepleasedon'thurtmeLokiImsorry…." I said so fast the words became a mumbled mess.

"What is this Midguardians tongue with which you speak?" Thor asked.

"What's a Midguardian?" I asked, staring around.

"It's a pureblood." Steve said, "It is a nickname Thor made for purebloods."

"Oh….what is a half blood then? What are you?"

"Doesn't matter." Thor said. "What matters is Natasha isn't pregnant and Loki is not going to be in trouble with our father." He turned and strode down the hall.

Steve and Stark followed quickly. "Someone had better calm Barton down…" Stark was saying. "Or else both Loki and Natasha will die in their sleep."

I was staring at the floor, and Natasha and Loki were staring at me.

"You would have made a beautiful baby." I said quietly. They were quiet for a moment, and then as if on cue, they burst out laughing hysterically.

They laughed for at least five minutes and didn't stop until they saw how red my face was. "Sorry" I muttered, turning and walking away.

"Regulus!" Natasha called out, rushing to catch me. She put her hand on my shoulder and turned me so I was facing her. "Hey, you are my best friend, and if I ever became pregnant, you would be the first person I would tell." She said earnestly. I shrugged her hands off. She sighed and put her arm through mine. Loki walked on the other side of me.

They were quickly falling in love, and strangely, I didn't feel as third wheel-ish as I did when she was dating Barton.

Maybe it's because Loki likes me.


	9. Chapter 9 Loki

Loki's POV

One day, the first day of winter holiday, Natasha and I were sitting in the library as a storm raged outside. I always hated storms, my whole life. Growing up they had meant that either Thor or Odin was angry, and nether was good.

Thunder cracked outside, and I jumped and stiffened involuntarily, cursing my jumpiness. Thunder was a natural thing on Mudguard. A bright flash. Lightning was normal too.

Natasha seemed to sense my discomfort, because she scooted closer. I put my arm around her and drew her in. I glanced at my hand and saw it was shaking. I clenched it into a fist, but she gently uncurled it and inserted her own hand into mine.

"I…I remember when I was little, and there would be a storm raging, and I was terrified." Natasha was talking quietly, "My dad didn't comfort me often. He raised me to be...Well...Me. Not to show fear, and to be strong. But when there was thunder and Lightning, I would be curled up, shaking, trying so hard to not let him see my fear. But it was hopeless.

'He lit a fire in our cabin, and picked me up, placing me on his lap, and he would hold me, and gently rock me back and forth. And he would sing Russian lullabies." She shuddered and I pulled her closer to me. She rested her head on my chest.

"That was the one time he ever let me show any emotion." She said. Thunder clapped and I tensed. She looked up at me, "You don't have to hide emotion Loki." She said. I glanced out the window at the dark grey and the water streaming down the window. A bright white flash illuminated the room. "It's alright to be scared." She whispered. I took a deep breath and she put her feet on the bench, curling up into my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her, feeling as though she was a fragile thing that needed protection, but in truth, she was the one protecting me. She put her book down, and I used my wand too summon a blanket, and we lay together listening to the rain and thunder, and watching the lightning.

Eventually my fear was replaced with an emotion I hadn't felt in so long I had almost forgotten its name. Tranquility.

Curled up amongst the smell of books, with the only thing watching me were the lamps and windows. No one was judging me; I had no need to strive to be better than anyone else.

Natasha was warm and comforting. I didn't care that she was probably playing an angle, because at that moment all I could feel was peace. Somehow I felt accepted, maybe even loved.

I tried to shake that from my mind, she couldn't possibly love me. I was Loki. I had tried to kill her multiple times, I had offended her, and I had called her a mewling quim…

She curled up closer to me as the storm raged on, and closed her eyes. Eventually, I realized she was asleep.

Natasha Romanov was asleep. That surprised me more than anything else, because she didn't sleep if she didn't feel completely safe. This means she felt safe with me, and as I leaned back and closed my eyes, I knew that I couldn't betray her trust.

Even if it's what she was doing to me.

When I opened my eyes again, the rain was still falling, but the window was light and there was no thunder or lightning.

Natasha was still lying there, in the exact same position. I smiled, realizing subconsciously how beautiful she was. She shifted and opened her eyes, I smiled almost without realizing it.

She smiled back,

"Good morning." She said quietly. I gently stroked a piece of red hair out of her face, and began stroking her hair.

"Good morning." I said. She lay there, letting me run my fingers through her soft hair. Neither of us made a move to get up. The rain slowly trickled to an end.

"The storm stopped." She noted. I glanced out the window and nodded.

"I suppose it just needed to run its course." I said.

"It's Christmas holiday." She said sleepily.

"Yeah…this is my first Christmas." I said. Natasha looked at me in disbelief, "we don't have Christmas on Asguard…"

"Oh…I forgot you were…" She trailed off; both of us knew what the ending was though, "Well, we should make this the best Christmas ever then." She said finally. I smiled and continued stroking her hair. She laid her head back on my chest.

"So...I guess Christmas is a big thing on Mudguard?" I asked. Natasha sat up and turned so she was facing me.

"Are you serious?" She asked.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"'Is Christmas a big thing?' Loki, it is like the biggest thing…and you know nothing about it?"

"Nope…never came up in school when I was growing up…"

"So Thor knows nothing either?" She narrowed her eyes.

"What are you thinking of?" I began to worry what her plan was.

"If neither of you know a thing about Christmas, someone will know you are different." She said, "So we should teach you!"

"What? We as in your band of merry men?" I asked, horrified at the thought of the Avengers giving me culture lessons.

"Yes, you and Thor, just some rudimentary things." Natasha began to get excited, "It'll be fun!" She said, jumping up and grabbing my hand, pulling me to my feet.

"Fun isn't exactly the word I would use…"

"They will be nice." She promised. I was skeptical. She wrapped her arms around me, "come on Loki! What else are we supposed to do this holiday?"

"As long as they are nice." I finally consented. She smiled and got on tip toes to kiss my cheek.

"This will be great!"She said. I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm as she led me away to find the Avengers and present her idea.


	10. Chapter 10 Natasha

NATASHA

"Lesson Number One: Father Christmas" Banner had constructed a board with pictures of Father Christmas, and was using his wand to point at it.

I had rallied the Avengers, and convinced them that Loki and Thor needed to know about Christmas. We all decided to teach different lessons each day. Banner had volunteered for Father Christmas, Stark wanted to talk about the food, Steve the music, Barton trees, and I was left with Mistletoe. Go figure.

Loki was leaning against the windowsill, listening avidly to Banner talking about chimneys and reindeer. His brow was slightly furrowed, and I noticed almost subconsciously he was biting his lip. Thor was standing next to him, his enormous arms crossed; they had similar expressions as they were informed about Christmas.

What was he doing? I spent almost every waking moment with him, and he didn't seem to be hatching some nefarious plot to take over the world in some cruel way.

He seemed to be acting like a normal teenage boy. He kissed me, he did his homework, and he didn't do his homework…normal. But he wasn't. This was a man who had just a few months ago, killed over one hundred people and tried to take over the world.

Maybe Odin had done something to him? Something that would make him come back to earth, Normal.

Hearing how much hate he got from everyone disturbed me, especially because some of it had come from me. Thor had gotten so mad at him when he thought I was pregnant, you would have thought Loki had murdered Thor's only child. I wondered if that is what it had been like growing up.

And Loki still jumped at thunder and lightning. I could tell it scared the living daylights out of him. That simple fact, he was scared of something as scientific as lightning, made him seem…human.

And he wasn't all bad. Sure he had made some mistakes, but haven't we all? Loki wasn't born badly. From what I'd seen, he didn't seem like the kid with the magnifying glass burning ants on the pavement, I would actually more attribute that kind of behavior to Thor.

I stood beside Tony Stark, staring at Loki as he listened to Banner talk about Father Christmas, and watched as Banner flipped the chart from time to time. He noticed me staring, and smiled. Involuntarily, I smiled back.

Tony glanced between us, "you excited to teach about mistletoe?" He whispered. I glared at him, and he shrugged, "It's not a bad gig. I mean…"

"Tony…stop talking now." I said, "You are starting to sound like Regulus."

"Regulus? Black? The one that…."

"Yes that one." I sighed.

"He was worried about you last night, said nether you or Loki showed up. And then you missed breakfast." I sighed again. No point in lying to Tony.

"We fell asleep in the library. Nothing happened" I said. Tony whistled.

"The black widow falling asleep on the job?" He asked. I said nothing; there was nothing to be said.

I had, for the first time, fallen asleep in someone's arms, someone who wasn't my father. I hadn't even gotten remotely sleepy when I was dating Barton, and we were actually dating!

But I had fallen asleep in Loki's arms. I wondered what part of me thought I could trust him, because that part would have to be stopped before it got carried away.

"Father Christmas brings presents to children on Christmas day; he puts them under the Christmas tree." Banner was saying.

"Tree?" Thor asked,

"That's my lesson, tomorrow is Trees and Stockings" Barton said.

"So, Father Christmas lives in the North Pole, and he has an army of—"

"An Army?" Loki interrupted, and then looked down, "sorry…"

"An army of hardworking, happy elves that made toys." Bruce said pointedly,

"So an army of slaves?" I smiled internally.

"No…they worked for him willingly." Banner said, flipping the page to a picture of elves with green and red hats, pointy ears, and bells on their shoes smiling and making trains and teddy bears "see?"

"That is a hand drawn picture!" Loki said, "They had to serve him willingly, what choice do they have? They are trapped in the frostbitten north, with no way of escape…" Banner sighed,

"They are Happy! They are making toys!"

"Why are they happy?" Loki asked. He was being ridiculous. Steve was chuckling on the other side of me.

"It's just a story!" Banner responded, Stark took a step forward,

"Calm down…" He said, glaring at Loki, "stop aggravating him. You are just as much of a target as the rest of us!"

"I just want to know why we think that enslaving these poor elves to make our already spoiled children gifts is ok…" Loki said.

"No one said it was ok…it's just how it's been done for years…" Steve said.

"Ok, so if I had shown up and tried to enslave all of you thousands of years ago it would have worked?" I almost smiled,

"No! I mean, yes, I mean…Father Christmas just enslaved one race, you were trying to take over everything." Stark said.

"Oh so genocide is ok? That is what got Thor banished in the first place!" Loki exclaimed, Thor took a step forward.

"Hey! Everyone! Calm down! It's just a Christmas story!" I said, stepping between Loki and Stark who looked to be about to have a go at each other.

"And what does that teach your children?" Loki asked,

"What kind of stories were you told?" Barton snapped.

"True ones." Loki turned to me, "I don't think this will work Natasha…I'm so sorry." He said, before turning and slamming the door behind him. I glared at the Avengers.

"What? He is the one who brought ruling the world into it." Stark said defensively,

"Keep Banner calm, I'm going to get Loki." I said, walking away. The castle hallways were empty, and my footsteps resonated throughout the corridors. I had no idea where Loki could have gone.

Something was bothering him; he wouldn't have lost his cool like that otherwise.

I soon found him on one of the benches in the hallway. He was sitting staring at something I couldn't see. His face was a contorted mixture of bitterness, sadness, hate, and disgust.

I took a step forward and his head snapped up, his face going immediately blank. When he saw it was me he half smiled, "You are the only person who can sneak up on me."He said. I walked up and sat next to him on the bench.

I noticed there was a small clump of Mistletoe hanging in the window. Loki was staring at it sadly. "Mistletoe right? That is what Midguardians call it?" He asked, not looking at me.

"What do you call it on Asguard?" I asked.

"Mistletoe…" He tried to smile but failed. I stared at him with concern; I'd never seen Loki act so…sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Loki shrugged.

"Nothing...it's just…." He took a deep breath, "hard."

"Mistletoe?" I asked. Loki nodded.

"Do you know why people kiss under mistletoe?" Loki asked. I shook my head. Loki sighed,

"There was an Aesir, Prince Baldur eons ago. He was beloved by all. The queen of Asguard, Frigg, loved him so much that she made it so that no living thing could harm him." Loki said, "But she overlooked one plant, mistletoe…" He stopped and took a shaky breadth

'I…I discovered her oversight, and…something drove me to act upon it. I crafted a dart out of mistletoe, and gave it to a blind prince. I guided his hand, so the dart pierced Baldur's heart, killing him." He stared down at the mistletoe in his hands and smiled bitterly.

"Thor isn't my only half brother." The realization slowly hit that Loki was sharing his worst memory, his biggest regret.

"Frigg was so distraught…her tears became the berries on the plant. And now everyone kisses underneath, in memory of Baldur." Loki looked out the window at the snow, lightly falling. Suddenly the mistletoe didn't seem so romantic, it seemed almost morbid.

"it's alright…you can say whatever you want to now..." Loki said quietly. I realized he expected me to judge him, or just walk away. I wondered how many people he had told, and how many had done just what he expected me to do.

"Everyone has red on their ledger." I said, "Some deaths we regret more than others, but you cannot undo them." I reached out and grabbed his hand so that the mistletoe fell to the floor. In a movement to scoot closer to him, I kicked it under the bench.

He looked at our hands, the floor where the mistletoe had been moments before, then up at me. His eyes were watery.

I scooted so I was right next to him, wrapping my arms around him and holding tight. He put his arms around me and I felt him kiss the top of my head before burying his face in my neck.

Eventually we broke apart, his eyes still red but no longer damp. He smiled weakly, "thank you." He said softly. I grabbed his hand and put my head on his shoulder. Loki seemed to feel better now, and somehow that made me feel better.

Why I felt the need to comfort him was beyond me, but all I knew was he was distraught, I couldn't be happy. I had to put that part of my emotions in check soon.


	11. Chapter 11 Natasha

It was the day before Christmas, and the school was bustling with preparation.

The few of us remaining had decided to make snowmen on the grounds.

Thor's was more of a deformed pile of snow, this was his first attempt at a snowman, and although Jane Foster had tried to help, it kept falling apart. Tony's actually moved, although no one was sure how, Steve's was the classic three-ball-carrot-nosed-twig-armed snowman. The Marauders had made a couple that appeared to be strangling each other. Banner's was large and Clint's wasn't actually a snow_man_ but more of a snow_parakeet. _

Regulus and I had teamed up and made a pretty nicely shaped snowman, not quite as ordinary as Steve's, mainly because Steve had used the only carrot we could find, and halfway through Regulus pushed me and I fell through our person so he had a large part of his stomach missing.

Loki however blew us all away. Instead of creating a snowman, he created a snow Hogwarts. It was a scale version of the castle so detailed it was impeccable. Once everyone had finished their sculptures, no one really cared what the others had done because everyone was so transfixed with Loki's.

He was adding some finishing touches to the Gryffindor tower when he noticed everyone staring at it.

"I know…the Ravenclaw tower is a bit off, it should have been about a foot to the right in the sculpture…but it's the best I can do." He said sheepishly. Stark let out a short laugh. I went over to stand beside Loki and took his hand in mine.

I was surprised to feel how cold it was. I reached over and lifted his other hand, finding it the same temperature. They were both slightly bluish, like the first hints of frostbite. Loki stared at them, and then glanced at me almost fearfully. His whole body was a light almost translucent blue. He tried to jerk his hands away from me, but I held tight and began rubbing them to warm them up.

"Your sculpture is amazing" I said, kissing his cold cheek. Then I turned around and leaned against him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I held his hands in an effort to warm him up again.

Thor was still trying to get his to look like a snowman, but it wasn't working very well.

Both Jane Foster and Pepper Potts were trying to help him, but without much success. Thor kept swinging one of his arms and knocking the head off, or trying to mold the head and creating a crater in the side of it. Loki chuckled,

"We never got snow on Asguard." He explained in my ear

"How did you get so good?" James Potter asked. Loki shrugged,

"I guess it's in my blood." James looked at Thor, and Loki sighed, "it might have skipped him…"

"No kidding…" Sirius muttered. I glanced down and was relieved to see Loki's hands were a more normal color, though still freezing cold.

Eventually Thor gave up after he fell face first in the snow for the third time, and everyone headed inside for dinner. The great hall had been rearranged so that it was no longer four student tables and a teacher table, but one table for everyone. We had a great Christmas Eve feast, and then headed off to our respective dorms.

I got the fire going, and Loki, Regulus and I sat around it, ready for a calm night around the crackling warmth, but Tony Stark had other ideas.

There was a knock on the portal, and Regulus got up to answer it. As soon as the door opened, Tony Stark came in, followed by the rest of the Avengers, Pepper and Jane.

In moments Tony had set up a refreshment table, a section of the room for dancing, and had spruced up the Christmas Trees in the corners.

"What is going on?" I asked, following Tony as he set up food.

"Party! It's Christmas Eve! There were three Ravenclaw's, Three Slytherins, Three Gryffendors that wanted to come and only one Hufflepuff. I figured we should all have some fun!" He said, moving one of the tables out of the way. I sighed; Tony smiled, his eyes alight with promise of a fun night.

In less than ten minutes, the party was going at full force, and we had no choice but to join in.

Steve played a lot of classic Christmas music, but finally Tony rolled his eyes, and with a wave of his wand, switched it to some more contemporary music.

"Hey! That was my favorite song!" Steve protested. Tony grabbed Pepper's hand and led her to the dance floor.

"What? Sorry I can't hear you!" He shouted. Steve sighed and went to get some pumpkin juice.

Thor and Jane were dancing, and she was teaching him some more contemporary moves as opposed to his Asier tradition. Regulus just kind of stood there and bobbled with Banner and Clint, and Loki and I stood by the fireplace with some butterbeer.

"So…any other Asier Christmas traditions I should know about?" I asked. Loki chuckled,

"Odin looked funny in a red suit." He said. I stared at him for a moment before realizing he was kidding.

"Hey you two!" Regulus called. He had his wand out and was levitating a bushel of mistletoe over us. Loki stared at it and I looked down,

"You don't have to…" I said quietly. Loki gave a small smile and tilted my chin, kissing me lightly on the lips.

"For my brother." He said quietly. Regulus dropped the mistletoe so it fell on top of my head, and busied himself with some licorice wands.

"Cute" Loki commented, adjusting the mistletoe on my head. I rolled my eyes and took it off my head, placing it on the fireplace. Loki smiled, "Want to dance?" He asked, offering his hand.

"I don't know…how good are you?" I asked, Loki raised an eyebrow.

"I was a prince raised in a palace, you were raised by a Russian spies…you tell me." He said. I narrowed my eyes, taking his hand.

"We shall see" I said, he nodded his acceptance of the challenge.

Just as we got onto the floor, Steve had figured out how to work the stereo and the song changed to a slow one. Loki smiled, putting one hand around my waist and the other he placed into mine. I put my free hand on his shoulder.

We slowly began to sway in a small circle. "Not bad for a Russian spy." Loki commented.

"I would say not bad for an Asier Prince, but I don't really have anyone to compare you with…"

"You're the only Midguardian I've ever danced with…" Loki said, "Although you are better than most of the women on Asguard."

"And I bet you were quite the ladies man." Loki looked up as if remembering,

"Not really…Thor was more of the romantic one. I was always busy trying to clean up his messes." Loki smiled, "Besides I always hated how mother would try and get me to dance with these girls…"

"But thousands of years of dancing and all you can do is sway in a circle?" I asked, Loki smiled and tightened his grip,

"I thought you might be scared if we went faster." He said, pushing me away slightly while spinning me quickly under his arm, and pulling me back so our bodies collided. I held on tight, slightly dizzy.

"You alright?" He asked, a small amount of concern furrowing his brow.

"Is that the best you can do?" I asked. Loki pursed his lips, but before he could do anything, Tony yelled out

"SWITCH" And pushed Pepper into Thor and pulling me away from Loki and into his arms.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Dancing" He replied, "Besides, there are three girls and twice that many guys. We got to share…" Loki had slinked away from the dance floor and was talking to Regulus.

Jane Foster had begun dancing with Steve, Pepper was dancing with Thor, and I was dancing with Tony. After a few moments, Tony called switch again, and I ended up dancing with Steve.

"Natasha…I need to ask you a favor." He said.

"What is it?"

"I need to talk to someone…but I will need help getting back into the Slytherin dorm."

"Of course…do you want me to come with you?" I asked. Steve chuckled,

"We both know you will follow me no matter what." He said, "But it's not a big deal…we should go now before Tony yells switch again." I nodded and we slowly made our way to the portal, and then slipped out.


	12. Chapter 12 Steve

STEVE

"Where are we going?" Natasha asked. I didn't answer, but walked purposefully down the hall. She followed a few feet behind me. We made it to one of the hallways outside McGonagall's classroom. I signaled for her to stand back, and stood near to the door.

Professor McGonagall came out a few seconds later, and jumped when she saw me.

"Mr. Rogers!" She said, "Why are you not in your dorm?"

"I need to talk to you Minerva." I stated plainly. McGonagall looked down, frowning,

"I figured that would happen sooner than later." She said, "What happened to you Steve?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what she meant.

"I mean what happened to you? One day you were a fifteen year old boy falling off his broomstick, then you leave and join the American army, and we don't hear from you until seventy years later when you show up having not aged a day." I took a deep breath.

"I was cryogenically frozen for seventy years." I said quickly. I hadn't realized how much those words scared me. I hadn't noticed how much time had truly passed until I saw Minerva, wrinkly and hallow. She had been perky and beautiful, the Gryffindor Chaser.

Then when Fury told me I had to go back to Hogwarts, and I saw Minnie, a professor, unmarried, alone, how long I had been gone struck like a bullet. Sure the new technology and way of life, and mannerisms and morals or lack thereof had astonished me, but I had been able to detach myself from it all.

"You were gone…" McGonagall said.

"Minnie…I'm sorry…" I said hoarsely, "I wish I didn't have to talk to you about this…but I have to know….Peggy…" McGonagall reached out and touched my arm. Peggy that was another thing. I wasn't sure if she was still alive, or if she had ever married, but I knew I couldn't be content in this time period if I didn't know.

"She was happy. Not as happy as she could have been…but was happy. She married, never had children. She is still alive you know…you should go visit her."

"No…that would be worse. For both of us. Better she think I dead still."

"Steve…" I wished with all my heart I could go talk to her, but that would have been too painful. I was content with knowing she was happy.

"Don't tell her." I said thickly, "I just needed to know that she is ok."

"I visit her in her retirement often, she is happy." McGonagall put her wrinkly hand on my smooth face, "and you should be to Steve. You are the best man I have ever known, you deserve someone like Peggy." I smiled sadly, hugging her.

"I'm sorry I left Minnie…" I said, "I wish...things had been different."

"But they aren't. We missed you horribly Steve, but we knew you were doing what you wanted to do. And what made you happy, and then when we thought you were dead it was like the end of the world for us, we never got over it, but we moved on." She patted my arm once more before turning and walking down the hall.

"And Steve," She called, turning around, "who are your friends? They all seem strange."

"An elite team of superheroes from all walks of life." I said. McGonagall narrowed her eyes,

"Fine I guess it's none of my business." She said, the click of her shoes getting quieter with her retreat.

"I wasn't kidding!" I called after her, she just waived her hand. I chuckled, but my smile soon fell. Natasha slinked out of the darkness and went to stand by me

I was staring at nothing in particular, my head was high though, and I felt a small comfort in knowing Peggy was alive, but that was quickly replaced with a longing, a dream I had of spending the rest of my life with her.

Natasha slipped her hand into mine, and I felt my willpower to remain detached from my emotion crumble.

"I'm glad she was happy. "I said quietly. Natasha said nothing, but her presence offered a small amount of comfort. I had forced myself not to think about anything, and it hadn't been hard. Nothing was the same as it was before, and I had almost convinced myself it was an alien planet.

But being back at Hogwarts, having nothing to distract me other then my homework, and reliving my past, it was almost impossible not to cry myself to sleep. Here it was less like an alien planet, small things like the rearrangement of statues in the halls, and the fact that they no longer served butterbeer friquesntly during mealtime kept hitting me in the face. The larger facts hit harder. Facts such as Minerva being a teacher, or Dumbledore becoming headmaster, the only thing that hadn't changed was Slughorn.

I took a shaky breadth, my throat becoming tight and thick. My eyes began to hurt as they swelled with tears. Natasha wrapped her arms around me and held me as I silently sobbed.

Soon though, I pulled away, wiping my face on my scarf. My nose and cheeks were red, and my eyes slightly puffy. I suddenly became embarrassed that she had seen me melt like that.

"Sorry Natasha…" I said, "I don't normally…" she smiled sadly,

"I know Steve; there is nothing to be sorry about." she said, "And McGonagall was right, you do deserve happiness." I tried to smile, but it faded quickly.

"Thank you for coming with me." I said,

"Hey, anything for my favorite seventy year old solder." She said, playfully punching my arm. I smiled and rubbed it in mock pain.

"Geez Natasha, it is Christmas Eve, go a little easy on a guy." I said. She laughed,

"Come on…I need some butterbeer." She linked my arm into mine and together we walked to the Slytherin Dorm.


	13. Chapter 13 Natasha

The music was calmer, and people were sitting around the fireplace chatting and playing games. I grabbed two butterbeers and found Loki on the couch. I kicked off my shoes and curled up next to him, tucking my toes into the space between cushions. Loki put his arms around me and drew me close.

I hadn't realized how cold it was in the hallway until I was warm in Loki's arms. He reached up and grabbed the blanket off the back of the chair, tossing it around us.

"You're freezing." He muttered, grabbing my cold hands, "where did you two go?" He was staring at Steve, who was watching Tony and Regulus play wizard chess. His face was less red, but his eyes were shockingly blue.

"Steve had to sort some things out. I just let him back into the dorm." I said. Loki didn't seem convinced, but didn't question further.

Tony let out a cry of despair as Regulus's bishop killed his king.

"Rematch?" Regulus asked. Tony sighed,

"No, it's time for the Sing-A-Long!" He exclaimed, flicking his wand to get the music going again, "now everyone had better-"

"What are you doing?" Everyone turned and let out a collective gasp of fear, for the voice belonged to Professor Slughorn, and along with him were Dumbledore, Fury and the Marauders. Tony quickly turned the music off.

"See…Gryffindors, Hufflepufs, and Ravenclaws in the Slytherin dorm." James said triumphantly.

"Oh that's rich!" Tony said sarcastically, "The _Marauders _snitching on us." James was about to say something, but Slughorn intervened.

"What are you doing?" Slughorn repeated.

"You see, Its Christmas Eve sir and well we…Just decided that…" Steve began rambling mindlessly. He was obviously new to this whole 'breaking the rules and getting caught' deal.

"You decided to have a party." Dumbledore finished. Tony looked down.

"All four houses, together in one place, actually getting along." Dumbledore continued, "with food and music and oh my, are those Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans?" He pointed to a bowl of colorful candies on the table. Tony nodded, looking slightly confused.

"Fantastic!" Dumbledore walked over and began eating the jellybeans one by one. Slughorn cleared his throat.

"Sir…what shall we do about the rule-breakers?" He asked. Dumbledore looked up from the beans at all the students around the fire.

"Rule breakers? I am unaware of any rule that forbids Christmas Parties. Actually…I'm a bit embarrassed I didn't think of that myself!" He giggled and began eating the lemon drops on the table. "Who brought the food? It's wonderful."

Tony looked normal again, now that he knew we weren't getting into trouble, but was still apprehensive at the teacher's presence.

"Well why weren't you boys attending?" Dumbledore asked the Marauders. Sirius was glaring around the room, scowling, Remus was just standing there, Peter looked rather lost, and James was staring defiantly at Dumbledore.

"Sir it was a violation of school rules, non Slytherin students in a Slytherin Dorm?" James asked.

"No…it is fun Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore said, "So come on boys, lets join the party. I think I heard Mr. Stark mentioning a sing-a-long. Those are my favorites!" Dumbledore came over and sat next to Loki and I on the couch, "you don't mind do you?" he asked. We shook our heads no, and he smiled, situating himself. "What song are we singing?" He asked.

Everyone was staring at him with shocked expressions, including Slughorn and Fury.

Tony recovered quickly though and soon had everyone singing a joyous chorus of Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Deck the Halls, and other Christmas favorites.

Eventually even the Marauders joined in, and Dumbledore was always leading with his strong voice. I could feel Loki singing more than hear him, but he had a surprisingly fantastic voice. He didn't know many of the songs, so it took a couple courses for him to catch up, but I sang along and helped as much as I could.

After awhile, the teachers left and the quality of our voices deteriorated as we got more tired. Eventually Tony was the only one singing, but James threw a chocolate frog at him to get him to shut up.

Tony and Pepper were snuggled up together on the floor leaning against the sofa Loki and I were on. Regulus had curled up at the end of the couch once Dumbledore left, and was already fast asleep.

Thor and Jane were sitting close to the fire, his arm around her, chatting quietly. Steve and Bruce were playing chess, Clint nodding off next to them, and the marauders were sitting in one corner, talking quietly.

Everyone seemed so peaceful as people began slowly drifting to sleep; no one was arguing, no hostile glances. I felt safe, once again, in Loki's arms.

For some reason though, this time I didn't hate myself for letting my conscious slip. Half blurry memories of the night flooded my mind, Loki and I dancing, Loki singing, Loki and I kissing under the mistletoe, laughing, dancing…dizzy with happy thoughts, I soon succumbed to the wariness and my eyes closed as I drifted into dreams.


	14. Chapter 14 Loki

Loki's POV

"ITTSSS CHRISTMAS WAKE UP EVERYBODY!" I was stirred from my dream by Tony Stark's irritable voice chanting about something. Wait…why was Tony on Asguard? I wondered, I must still be dreaming. I concluded, resituating myself slightly. But there was something hard digging into my back, and a warm weight pressing on top of me. What the heck? I cracked open my eye and saw a mess of red hair on my chest….what the…I opened the other eye and saw that the red hair did not belong to me ( thank Odin) but to Natasha Romanov.

With a jolt of surprise, I remembered where I was. I wasn't in my bed on Asguard; I was on the couch at Hogwarts. The arm of the chair was the thing digging into my back, and the warmth and hair was Natasha. that must also be why Tony is waking us up.

Natasha was still sleeping peacefully, a small smile on her face. She looked even more beautiful in sleep, if that was possible. Her head was on my chest, one of her hand across her stomach, the other interlaced with mine.

I smiled and sighed, feeling safe.

Safe, a word I haven't used to describe myself since I was very small, sleeping in Frigg's arms, or on the top bunk, with Thor snoring underneath.

He was still snoring as loud as always, which I suppose in part contributed to my newfound security.

Well, almost security. Regulus had fallen alssep on the end of the couch that we were on, and wasa just now waking up.

"ITS CHRISTMAS!" He yelled as soon as he was cognative. His eyes were crusty and his black hair sticking up in all sorts of directions. He immediately grabbed the closest human, which happened to be Natasha.

He grabbed her leg and began shaking it, "Wake up! Its Christmas!" he called. Natasha woke up, flying into a defensive pose and smacking me in the face with a wild arm.

"Oh god Loki!" She said once she had seen the damage. My nose throbbed, but I didn't feel any blood. She sat back down on the couch, leaning over to see my nose, "I am so sorry…" she said, she went to kiss my nose, but just as she did, I jerked my head up and caught her on the lips. It wasn't a long kiss, but when we pulled away both of us were smiling.

"Merry Christmas."I said quietly. She smiled,

"Merry Christmas."

"Ok, goodness you two get a room!" Regulus commented, grabbing Natasha's hand and dragging her to where everyone else was standing, around a large tree with presents underneath.

I stood next to Natasha, almost subconsciously holding her hand. Tony immediately put himself in charge, reading labels and handing out presents. I was surprised to see how many I got, considering how few people in the room actually like me…

Steve gave everyone a small assortment of old fashioned candy, Thor gave me a box of Pop-Tarts( "They are fantastic Midguardians food brother…") Tony had really ugly, but surprisingly comfortable sweaters made for everyone, insisting we wear them. From Regulus I got a couple bottles of Butterbeer, and Natasha gave me a haul from the Joke Shop in Hogsmede.

"The god of mischief should have some ammunition." She whispered, my eyes lit up when I saw the possibilities. There were dungbombs, Hiccough Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, Sugar Quills, and Nose-Biting Tea cup.

"Are you sure you trust me with this?" I asked. Natasha smiled, we were sitting on the floor leaning against the couch.

"As long as you know if you use any of this on me, I will kick your ass." She said, leaning her head on my shoulder. I nodded,

"Understood."

"But Reggie is fair game." Natasha said, chuckling as Regulus struggled to put on his sweater from Tony.

"Ehehehehehe…" I laughed. Natasha picked up the present from me, wrapped meticulously in silver paper and topped with a green bow. I grew aprehensious, hoping she would like it. She glanced at the tag,

"No name…I wonder who it could be from…" She said teasingly. I shrugged,

"Better open it to find out…" I said, holding my breath. Natasha slowly untied the bow, then began taking the wrapper off piece by piece. Finally a small box wrapped in tissue paper lay in the middle.

Natasha took off the paper to revele a small wooden box, carved carefully full of designes. She let out a small gasp and sat up, holding the box close to her face. "Did you make this?" She asked quietly. The sides had small carvings of Asguard mixed with some of the places I'd been from Mudguard, the top had a replica of Hogwarts.

"Yeah…" I said, Natasha almost dropped the box and stared at me,

"I didn't know you could carve!" She exclaimed. I shrugged, feeling my cheeks turn red. "This is beautiful!" She looked more closely at the box.

"We used to do it on Asguard," I chuckled bitterly, "that was the one thing I excelled at more than Thor." Natasha leaned in kissing my cheek.

"It's amazing." She said, leaning on me again. I wrapped my arm around her, kissing the top of her head. That feeling returned, the one where I got a warm fuzzy feeling inside of me, where my heart swelled and I felt indestructible, like nothing was impossible, because Natasha would be next to me.

But then reality struck. She was a spy, an actress. Sure she was leaning on me, sure we had fallen asleep together, sure we kissed and flirted and acted, but for her, it was all an act. And I knew that. I always knew that, she wouldn't love me, how could she?

The fuzzy feeling quickly faded as I realized that I did care about her, for me it wasn't an act. I cared more about Natasha then I had for anyone…and I slowly realized those feelings would destroy me.

Still, the smallest part of my brain, actually, there was no logic in this thought, so the smallest part of my heart wondered if she was really that good. If she could act so in love with someone she should hate.

I frowned, and I guess she saw, because she asked me what was wrong. She had to know, she had to see that this was tearing me apart. But I wouldn't say that. She had to think I was acting as well. So I smiled, and said,

"I was just wondering when Breakfast was…I'm starving!" And went on like normal, pushing the painful thoughts away with the stark realization that there was nothing I could do about my emotions, so I might as well enjoy them while we're both pretending. Her pretending that she did care, me pretending that I didn't.


	15. Chapter 15 Loki

Loki's POV

The Great Hall was set up as before, with one table in the middle where everybody sat.

There was one extra chair when we had all sat down, but upon inquiry, Dumbledore just smiled and began serving food.

Breakfast was large and delicious and I don't remember most of it because at the end someone arrived that made Christmas the best day of my life.

Nick Fury exchanged looks with Pepper Potts, and both of them stood up and wordlessly walked out. Everyone looked around surprised, except the Teachers.

Dumbledore hummed happily to himself, then said, "Looks like we have another friend joining us." He said. As one everyone's heads turned to see who was walking in the door. It was Fury, along with Pepper and someone I knew I had seen, but couldn't place. He looked to be about fifteen, but tried to act a lot older. He had grey eyes and blond hair. He walked however, with a limp on his left side, and he used a cane to keep steady.

Phil Coulson. SHIELD Agent. Dead. Stabbed by me.

"HA! I knew that wouldn't have killed him!" I said, Natasha gave me a look,

"Don't say that too loudly…" She muttered.

"Sorry…"

"PHIL!" Tony jumped out of his seat and ran up to Coulson, coming to a screeching halt right in front of him. Tony stuck out his hand, and Phil shook it awkwardly.

Thor rushed up and engulfed both of them in one of his Thor-like bear hugs.

"He is alive…" Steve Rogers muttered, getting up and walking over. I noticed Natasha was smiling, and a weight came crushing down on me.

Phil Coulson had died.

I had killed him.

She must have been friends with him.

She stood up and walked over to him, hugging him gently.

"Careful, his chest still pains him…"Madame Pomphrey said, smiling. I stood up, slightly dizzy. I couldn't breadth as a million thoughts came crashing into my head, overpowering any rational thoughts that might have wanted an audience.

I backed up, I think I knocked over a chair, but wasn't quite aware of my surroundings. Someone shouted my name, maybe Regulus, and I turned and bolted out of the dining hall as fast as I could.

Once outside, away from all those smiling faces and happy people, I could think a little better. The clouds had released a fresh layer of snow for Christmas, untouched by humans.

I walked on top of the picturesque snow, leaving no footprints. I had long ago learned how to manipulate ice and snow to my advantage, and leaving it white and pure was a simple, mindless task now.

It was good that task was mindless, because my brain was racing at a crippling pace. I had not actually killed Phil. Phil Coulson, the only death I had come close to regretting since Baldur's, was alive and walking.

What really crushed me was everyone looked so happy to see him. Natasha smiled, Tony looked happier than I had ever seen him sober, Thor was Thor, Steve Rogers was almost crying, and even the teachers were overjoyed.

I didn't know Phil Coulson, but everyone else did, and he was obviously not the mindless PR Agent I had originally estimated.

I remembered his last stand before I stabbed him, he had said I was going to lose, and I did lose, he was right. And I actually could tell him.

Assuming he would even want to see me, I did stab him rendering him incapable of performing simple tasks for a good six months…he probably hates me…but if he and Natasha are friends then that could get messy.

_But you two aren't really going out _A small voice reminded me. Shut Up. I told it, _But it doesn't really matter what her friends think, because sooner or later it will all come crashing down, and you will lose her like you lost Thor…_

"Quiet!" I snarled out loud, it didn't matter; I was the only one out.

_And you know whose fault it will be when she runs away. _

"Stop Talking!" I said a little louder.

_It will be your fault Loki. Because in the end you are a frost giant. _

"Please!" I pleaded,

_A Monster. _

With a cry of fury I swirled around, bringing a flurry of snow with me. I looked around, breathing heavily and sweating despite the biting cold.

The beautiful snow topped land didn't look beautiful anymore; the dead trees and the darkness encasing the Forbidden Forest combined with the bleak castle and grey sky made the whole scene look lifeless, desolate, and sad.

"Loki!" I heard Natasha's voice calling my name, but didn't say or do anything. I glanced around, but I was on open ground, no trees or buildings or rocks to hide behind, she would find me soon.

"LOKI!" She rushed past the windows inside the castle, looking around. She saw me and stopped, I must have been a sight.

I looked down and saw that my skin was a translucent blue, not quite Frost-Giant blue, but close. The strange patterns had begun to show themselves on my hands.

I was also standing on the only not-snowy ground; the snow had been pushed away in my anger. My shoes were soggy from the wet ground, and the snow in piles all around. My scarf was crooked, my coat half hanging off my arm.

Natasha saw me and rushed out, sprinting across the snow and stopping in front of me. Her face was a mixture of sadness and confusion, but there was no fear.

"Loki…what are you doing?" She asked quietly, "come on inside before you catch your death out here!" I noticed she didn't have a jacket on, and had rushed out in her skirt and polo.

I took a step towards her, onto the snow again, and took off my scarf and coat, wrapping her up tightly.

"No, you need it…" She insisted, pushing away the coat. I said nothing, but didn't let her relent, and soon the jacket was on. I kept my eyes downcast; it was almost too painful to look at her. Her red hair had been tussled gently by the wind, her face slightly red from the cold. Her feminine frame was tiny in my large jacket, and she smelled like…

_Stop that _said the voice in my head. And for once I listened. No use in torturing myself more.

"Loki, come inside." Natasha said firmly, "Phil wants to see you" I momentarily froze.

"He wants to see me?" I asked quietly. Natasha sighed and put a cold hand on my icy face.

"Of course he does." She said. I took her hand in mine, noticing they had become a normal color again. She gave me an encouraging smile and began walking, pulling me behind her. I soon caught up and she linked arms with me.

The castle was warm and toasty compared to outdoors, and soon Dumbledore had us sipping coca and sitting around a large fire. Since there were so few of us, the teachers had set up a living space in the great hall.

A large fire cackled in the middle with comfy sofas and chairs all around, people were talking quietly, sipping coca, eating candy and playing games.

Phil was the center of attention, a large crowd had gathered to see the undead agent, however when he saw me he broke away from the crowd. He was slightly shorter than me, but what he lacked in height he made up for in a powerful political glare that nearly made me vote.

"Loki" Phil said plainly. Here I was; staring at the man I had killed. He looked less like himself in his Hogwarts uniform instead of his fitted suit, but he looked as alive as ever.

"Coulson…" I said quietly. Wow, bright. That was the only thing I could think of to say? How about 'I'm Sorry'… "I um…I regret that my actions may have cause you intense pain and agony…and I implore your um…friendship…" I stammered mindlessly. Phil listened without interrupting, but I guess it hurt Natasha to hear me stumble so much.

"He means that he is sorry." She said. Phil smiled and nodded,

"No hard feelings mate." He said, "It was war and we were on opposite sides." I blinked and stepped backwards, he forgave me; like that?

"Um…thank you." I said hesitantly, no one forgave that easily. Especially when it was me

"I've had a lot of time to think about it, in the hospital with nothing to do, watching you destroy Manhattan. I wanted to rip your guts out, I wanted to tear you limb from limb and then…well…you get the idea." Phil was smiling and had led me a little away from the crowd of people. Natasha had sat down with Regulus and was staring at us with concern.

"I understand that…" I said.

"But, I got the letter from Dumbledore that you were going to our school, and had struck up a relationship with Natasha Romanov, I couldn't believe it."

_Me Either _I wanted to say, but I said nothing.

"Then I thought to myself, if Nat has accepted and forgiven him, so should I." It struck me that Natasha didn't tell Phil she really didn't care about me. He thinks we are actually going out.

"I really am sorry about this summer…" It sounded kind of lame, but I wasn't sure what else to say. Phil waived it off.

"Hey, six months where I got to lie in bed and watch TV and eat food…no problem. And the Government paid for it all." He added with a smile. I chuckled and Phil clapped his hand on my arm.

"Thank you for forgiving me Phil Coulson." I said sincerely. Phil nodded once before we both rejoined the crowd around the fire.


End file.
